OFWs in iFWD PH Program Undergo Techbiz Ideation Workshops
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) enrolled in Phase 1 of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Innovations for Filipinos Working Distantly from the Philippines (iFWD PH) program for 2024 learned the first steps to setting up a business through a seven-part seminar workshop on Tech Ideation that will run until May 27, 2024.
Conducted via a hybrid method of face-to-face and online using the Zoom Application, the Early-Stage Business Ideation Sessions will help OFWs or their family representatives to conceptualize and concretize their business ideas, which may either be a technology startup, or a micro business. The training has the following specific objectives: to capacitate OFWs to build their business ideas; to enable OFWs to realize their product-market fit, to enable OFWs to create a value proposition canvas, and to build up the business idea of OFWs in preparation as they move forward to the Advanced Core Business Development Sessions of iFWD PH Phase 1.
Seventy-six (76) participants took part in the sessions that tackled various subjects. Session 1 (April 18) examined the environment market landscape, where participants engaged in Problem Identification and Opportunity Discovery. Session 2 tackled Values and Entrepreneurship, with participants learning about the Entrepreneurial Mindset. Session 3 (April 22) was on Design Thinking, where the future entrepreneurs underwent the continuous process of reviewing, questioning, and improving their initial assumptions and understandings about their market and their products. Session 4 (May 3) was on Customer Discovery, which involves creating the customer persona or market discovery. Session 5 (May 10) had the participants creating a Value Proposition Canvas, which is a framework used to ensure that there is a demand in the market for the product.
Session 6 on May 14 will analyze the Product-Market Fit, while Session 7 on May 21 will teach the Art of Pitching, including how to prepare a pitch deck and pointers on how to pitch businesses to potential angel investors. The final session on May 27 will have the iFWD PH participants pitching their business ideas before a panel made up of DOST-NCR RTEC members, CASTO Heads, EXECOM members, and representatives from the Entrepinoy Volunteers Foundation, Inc.
The Ideation Workshop series is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding which the DOST-NCR signed last February with the Strategic and Collaborative Alliance for Leveraging Ecosystem of Startups- National Capital Region (SCALE-NCR), a startup ecosystem consortium of technology business incubators in NCR, wherein this year’s batch of iFWD program beneficiaries will be guided by mentors from the Technological Institute of the Philippines Nurture Innovation and Revolution Office, Adamson University Neo Science and Technology Incubation Center, De La Salle University Animo Labs, Mapua Think and Tinker Laboratory, Miriam College TBI, UPSCALE Innovation Hub, TOMASinno Center, and QBO Innovation Hub.
Aside from providing training on Business Ideation for startup businesses, SCALE-NCR has also signified its support in providing incubation for established technology-based startups, such as those that are being assisted under the iFWD PH program.
By: Pinky Marcelo, SCCU
