DOST published the initiative on 28 August after DOST-Caraga and Limitless Lab signed their partnership on 26 August during the opening of the Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week in Caraga. The regional office has been tasked to lead capacity-building for DOST-supported MSMEs nationwide; that implementation role is distinct from the department's broader national targets.

The partnership will develop certified trainers and give small businesses access to practical AI tools and resources intended to improve productivity, innovation and resilience. Limitless Lab is the Philippine implementing partner for the ASEAN Foundation's AI for MSME Advancement in ASEAN programme, known as AIM ASEAN.

DOST-Caraga Regional Director Noel Ajoc said more than 160 personnel had already been trained and would in turn train MSMEs working with DOST. The AIM ASEAN programme targets 100,000 MSMEs across the 10 ASEAN member states, including a Philippine target of 17,500 businesses by 2027.

Those programme figures should not be combined with DOST's separate operating targets. DOST says it aims to assist and upgrade 10,000 MSMEs over the next two years, while DOST-Caraga's regional target is 1,000 MSMEs by early next year.

The initiative is aimed at a common adoption gap: many small firms can see online AI tools but lack the awareness, training and implementation support to use them productively. Ajoc said DOST-Caraga's first 250 trainees showed strong interest among entrepreneurs, suggesting demand exists if training is tied to concrete business tasks rather than abstract technology demonstrations.

DOST also pointed to its Decentralized Intelligent Machine Exchange Repository, or DIMER, a model store developed by the department's Advanced Science and Technology Institute. The repository is intended to let users, including MSMEs, access AI models without building them from scratch.

The economic significance is less about a single training event than the proposed trainer network. If the regional partnership can maintain quality as it scales, it could give smaller firms a more practical route into automation, customer service, analysis and locally developed AI products. The published targets remain goals, not reported completions.

Source: Philippines Department of Science and Technology, “DOST pushes for nationwide AI use in MSMEs, partners with Limitless Lab,” published 28 August 2026.

Sources: Philippine Department of Science and Technology; Limitless Lab.