Officials rally behind local startups to drive Caraga growth

BUTUAN CITY — Local and national leaders are mobilizing government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector to transform Butuan City and the broader Caraga region into a hub for homegrown startups and technology-driven enterprises.

Speaking at the opening of the 10th Technology Business Incubators (TBI) Summit at the Watergate Hotel here on Friday, Nov. 13, Butuan City Mayor Lawrence Fortun and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Caraga Regional Director Engr. Noel Ajoc underscored the need to turn local ideas into scalable businesses and sustainable jobs.

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The event, hosted by DOST, was attended by Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa De Guzman, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

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Fortun said the city’s economic future depends on empowering residents to build enterprises rather than merely adopting existing technologies.

“We want our young people to become not just job seekers, but job creators,” Fortun told entrepreneurs, students, and national officials. “We want local ideas to grow into sustainable businesses, and technology to become an instrument for inclusive economic development.”

To support early-stage ventures, the city government is implementing its local startup ordinance alongside programs such as AgriBoost and the Innopreneur Academy, which aim to train entrepreneurs, improve farm yields, and link small businesses to larger markets.

Fortun noted that local governments must go beyond standard business permitting to provide safe spaces where new companies can test ideas.

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Fortun also likened today’s founders to Butuan’s pre-colonial seafarers who built balangay boats for regional trade, saying the city has long been connected to international commerce through innovation and collaboration.

Ajoc echoed the push for grassroots entrepreneurship, stressing that competitive startups can emerge outside major metropolitan centers if backed by a supportive ecosystem.

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He noted that startup development in Caraga extends beyond software applications to everyday problem-solvers addressing challenges in agriculture, fisheries, mining, and tourism across the region’s five provinces.

“Caraga has no shortage of challenges, but we also have something equally important: natural resources, talent, research institutions, industries, and communities with enormous potential,” Ajoc said.

“The question is not whether Caraga has the capability to innovate. The question is whether we can create an ecosystem that allows innovation to grow, businesses to thrive, and ideas to reach the people and markets that need them.”

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Ajoc said DOST Caraga is expanding the Caraga RISE initiative, which has spent the past two years aligning government, industry, and academia.

Alongside established hubs like Caraga State University’s Navigatu TBI, the region is preparing to launch new, locally funded TBIs in partnership with Surigao del Norte State University, Agusan del Sur State University, North Eastern Mindanao State University, Saint Francis Xavier College, and Father Saturnino Urios University.

Supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and local business chambers, the regional startup push is anchored on Caraga’s I2FAME strategy, which focuses on industrializing and innovating fishery, agro-forestry, mining, and ecotourism.

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Officials expressed optimism that aligning local policies, academic research, and incubation programs will attract investments and translate into direct economic gains for Caraga communities. /jpv