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3 strategic Philippine developments

“THREE developments are unfolding in the e-commerce and start-up fronts in the Philippines,” I wrote in my column in Sun.Star Cebu last July 6, 2015.

While the column briefly outlined my comments on these developments, I decided to post here copies of the pertinent documents for you to browse and analyze. Then I really urge you to post your comments and articulate your thoughts below. I intend to relay your comments to the appropriate offices.

Better yet would be your active participation during the consultations especially the coming Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) 2015 in Boracay this August 20-21, 2015. The PRworks Team is again organizing GOAB 2015 in behalf of Ms. Tina Amper and TechTalks.PH.

Okay, so what are these three significant developments?

Philippine e-Commerce Roadmap

One, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) began consultations last December 2014 for the Philippine E-commerce Roadmap 2015-2020. Janette Toral of DigitalFilipino.com presented highlights of the roadmap during a forum organized by the DTI in Parklane Hotel, Cebu City, that Monday afternoon.DTI E-Commerce Office Director Maria Lourdes A. Yaptinchay also updated Cebu stakeholders on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize the Micro-Small-Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Check out the June 30 draft of the roadmap that Ms. Toral uploaded in Slideshare:

[slideshare id=49981760&doc=e-commerceframeworkslide-june30b-150630003912-lva1-app6892&w=650&h=500]

In a Google+ post, Ms. Toral encourages interested e-commerce stakeholders to join the July 16 morning activity where eight key implementers (DTI, Senate, DBM, DOST, BSP, etc.) will be giving a talk as the roadmap gets formally signed.

The Startup Bill

Two, the pilot consultation/workshop on the Startup Bill sponsored by Sen. Bam Aquino is set Friday afternoon on July 10, 2015 at the UPCEBUinIT, UP Cebu campus, in partnership with CEDF-IT, UP TBI and DTI.

Here’s a copy of the draft bill:
[pdf-embedder url=”https://prworksph.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Startup-Bill.pdf”]

Philippine Startup Roadmap

Three, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in coordination with the Philippine start-ups community will launch the Philippine Start-up Roadmap this Aug. 20-21 during the Geeks on a Beach (GOAB) conference in Boracay.

To recall, the need to draw up a startup roadmap was first raised during the first Geeks on a Beach in 2013, also in Boracay. Check out this post –Boracay attracts 300 geeks; startup roadmap mulled – about that moment in the history of Philippine startups.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://prworksph.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/The-Philippine-Roadmap-for-Internet-Related-digital-Startups_Edited-06-16-rev.pdf”]

Politics, Advocacy and Lobbying

Listening to the discussions last Monday and going through the documents, one notes the need to achieve consensus among various private and public sector stakeholders on what needs to be done. Worth noting also is the active role of the private sector in shaping the roadmaps. For instance, Ms. Toral had the center stage during the DTI-organized consultation on e-commerce.

Sen. Bam Aquino’s ‘Startup Bill’ is an encouraging development in pushing Startups to the center of legislative debate and action. However, the e-commerce and startup roadmaps puts forward the need for several laws. As Ms. Toral repeatedly stressed several times during his presentation, more legislators who understand e-commerce and ICT along with the social impact of modern technology.

Still, helping increase the number of friendly legislators is only part of the larger advocacy and lobby effort to put in place laws that help develop Philippine e-commerce and startup champions.

What are your thoughts? Please share in the comment section below. 🙂

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