Mindanao loses a significant portion of its economic value due to inefficient resource management, with post-harvest losses in key sectors like fisheries reaching 25% to 40% in certain regions. In Cagayan de Oro City, participants in recent innovation summits have been strikingly transparent about the escalating challenges of air pollution and waste management. Meanwhile, in the CARAGA region, agricultural and forestry byproducts are often burned or dumped rather than processed into high-value inputs. Circulab intends to correct these leakages by turning discarded waste streams back into managed economic resources.
Seeking out Circularity in Region 11
Our journey began in March 2026 with a focus on how inclusivity should be a core principle in development work in the circular economy. During Women’s Month, we gathered in Davao to celebrate female leaders already turning waste into worth.
This carried on to April, when we were suddenly forced to work online due to rising fuel costs. Here, we bridged geographical gaps through intensive online sessions for MSMEs and startups. We reached out to organizations in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. While the municipality is better known as one of the gateways to Mt. Apo, it’s also shown its potential to innovate in eco-tourism, bridge the culture of its indigenous population, and offer financial incentives to its locals.
Mapping Caraga’s Circular Resources
In late April, we moved on to Region 13, specifically Del Carmen, Siargao. The municipality is defined by its lush, vast mangrove forests and rich marine resources, but its strength lies in a proactive LGU that refuses to let these assets go to waste. Circularity is not a new concept here; the community already operates facilities that successfully convert plastic waste into biogas to power local needs.
This three-day engagement moved beyond advocacy into resource mapping. In partnership with LGU Del Carmen and DOST Caraga, stakeholders met to physically trace how items such as agricultural byproducts and plastics move through the island and identify exactly where these materials are being dumped or burned rather than repurposed. This “resource mapping” allowed us to pinpoint exactly where materials were being lost. Here, the diverse community of Region 13 isn’t just bystanders but central characters in keeping materials moving in a loop. The session ended with a signed understanding between Upgrade and the local government. Along with a commitment to stop treating Siargao’s entrepreneurs as data points and start seeing them as primary managers of the island’s resources. We left Siargao knowing that a regenerative future requires much more than a biogas facility, but that requires a massive, unglamorous overhaul of how local labor is valued.
Bridging the Researcher-Practitioner Divide in Northern Mindanao
Immediately following our three-day engagement in Del Carmen, Siargao, the team traveled to Region 10, where Circulab took the stage at the Lambigit: 3rd Northern Mindanao Research and Innovation Summit (RIS).
Research conferences are where the raw material of the circular economy exists in the hands of researchers, faculty, and MSMEs who have technical solutions but often lack the formal business structure to scale them.
A core part of our engagement was the Reverse Pitching session. Unlike a regular pitch where a startup sells an idea to an investor, a reverse pitch flips the roles: industry leaders and government agencies present the actual, unsolved problems they face to a room of innovators.
This ensures that the solutions being developed are dictated by demand rather than guesswork. During the session, the DICT and Oro Integrated Cooperative identified that siloed patient records create redundant paper waste and delayed care, while a lack of processing equipment forces cacao farmers to let nutrient-rich pods and mucilage rot. These specific “leakages” prove that regional inefficiency isn’t just an abstract problem; it is a direct loss of patient health data and agricultural revenue that circular business models can recover.
We learned that while technical talent in Cagayan de Oro is high, the environmental strain is immediate. Participants were transparent about the city’s worsening air pollution and the logistical difficulties of urban waste management. These lived experiences confirmed that our mission is to provide a formal, urgent pathway for these researchers to move from lab-scale prototypes to registered businesses.
Formalizing Partnerships in Region 12 and BARMM
The mission continued into Region 12, where Upgrade Innolab formalized partnerships with the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) and USMART TBI. This aims to optimize agricultural value chains and prioritize GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion) objectives, ensuring that the transition to a circular economy creates 1,000 green jobs for the most marginalized.
Finally, the regional rollout reached BARMM through a focused orientation with the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA). This session introduced the fundamentals of innovation ecosystems to regional stakeholders. By aligning internal teams on the goals of the circular economy, we have laid the groundwork for an upcoming MOU that will formalize our support for emerging circular initiatives in the Bangsamoro region.
At Upgrade Innolab, we recognize that the hurdles startups face in a linear world are immense. Our regional outreach is designed to bridge the gap between early-stage ideation and investment readiness. By providing specialized mentoring, venture-building support, and grant opportunities, we are not just looking for applicants—we are looking for partners to lead the Philippines’ green transition.
The question isn’t if this transition will happen, it’s who will lead it. If you are ready to take the next step toward a sustainable tomorrow, the door remains open.
We are looking for the final set of Mindanao-based innovators ready to close the loop in waste, energy, or resource management. If your venture addresses the regional leakages mentioned above, apply before the deadline on May 15, 2026. Submit your proposal to [email protected] or access the full guidelines at https://bit.ly/CirculabProposal.
Funded by a P3.67 billion (€60 million) grant from the European Union in the Philippines, the EU-PH Green Economy Partnership is a priority programme under the EU’s Global Gateway initiative and is led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It aims to link European and Filipino partners from the private sector and local governments to accelerate the country’s transition to a greener economy while sustaining economic growth.
This initiative is done under the EU-PH Green Economy Partnership: Green Business, Infrastructure, and Finance implemented by Expertise France, co-led by the DTI Philippines, and co-implemented with the GGGI Philippines.
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