DTI pushes use of mobile apps for easier business registration

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for the application of mobile technology in enabling businesses to transact anytime and anywhere.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency is collaborating with the Department of Communications and Technology (DICT) for the development of a full electronic registration process using mobile apps.

“Together with the DICT, we are looking at developing a fully electronic registration process using smartphone app. This is an excellent opportunity for the Philippines to become one of the first countries to adopt a business registration process that can be completed, end to end, on a smartphone,” Lopez said.

Lopez, who also chairs the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), has underscored the critical role of automation and technology to expedite government procedures.

The NCC said speeding up business processes through automation is seen to largely contribute to the realization of the country’s goal of cutting the processing time of business registration and permits to a single day.

“I think the biggest leapfrog move is to see what permits we can take online and on the phone. I think if we can think in that way then we can reach our targets,” NCC co-chair Guillermo Luz has said.

The NCC’s target is for the Philippines to become in the top 20 percent of the world competitiveness rankings by 2020.

The NCC tracks 12 global competitiveness indices to check the performance of the Philippines.

Since it started in 2011, the NCC has been pushing to move the country from the bottom third of the world rankings into the top third.

Last year, however, it decided to upscale the country’s target, saying there is a “need to change the country’s incremental mindset into a leapfrogging mindset because other countries are also improving on their respective competitiveness drastically.”