DTI eyes one-stop shop for startups

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to set up a business one-stop shop (BOSS) to make the registration process easier for startups.

“We will be establishing, in coordination with the Anti-Red Tape Authority, the Startup Business One Stop Shop (SBOSS), where end-to-end registration of startups can be facilitated,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said during the Slingshot Conference yesterday.

He said the SBOSS would serve as a platform containing all information on the legal and regulatory processes involved, from opening, operating, to closing or exiting a startup, in line with Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act which seeks to streamline procedures for government services.

The SBOSS is among the DTI’s programs to support the development of startups in the country.

Lopez said another program supporting startups is the Startup Venture Fund (SVF) which will be launched today.

The DTI’s investment arm, the National Development Co., has allotted P250 million for the SVF this year and another P250 million for next year.

Lopez said the SVF is being set up as mandated under the Innovative Startup Act which aims to provide benefits and other forms of support to the startup ecosystem.

“This fund will be used to match investments of selected investors in startups based in the Philippines, either by creating a fund of funds or by direct investment infusion in strategically selected startups,” he said.

He said the DTI has also been forming Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Information and Communications Technology and other national government agencies and regional stakeholders such as the academe, to connect startups in the regions with those part of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem including corporates, funders, accelerators, incubators, innovation hubs, government agencies, universities and academic institutions, and service providers.