Section 21Sec./Art. 21

Innovation Fund. An Innovation Fund to strengthen entrepreneur-ship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions benefiting the poorest of the poor is hereby established. This Fund, from which grants will be issued, shall be administered by the NIC which shall screen and approve qualified proposals.

Subject to availability of funds, a revolving fund in the initial amount of One billion pesos (₱1,000,000,000.00), is hereby allocated for the initial years implementation of this Act, and such funds necessary for its continuous and effective implementation shall thereafter be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Further, the NIC, in coordination with the agencies concerned, shall explore the possibility of accessing a growing range of bilateral and multilateral funds in order to be able to assist in the funding of RD&E and other innovation efforts. Public-private partnerships shall also be encouraged in the development and implementation of innovation initiatives in the sphere of RD&E, education, product development and testing, among others.