THE Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas (DTI 7) has welcomed the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Innovation, which it sees as crucial to the region’s startup growth.
DTI 7 assistant regional director Maria Elena Arbon said the law is seen to usher in renewed measures for the development of startups in the country.
“This law means that there is now policy and a concerted program to support the development of startups. Basically, the implementation of the bill is through the concerted efforts of the three agencies,” she told SunStar Cebu.
These three agencies include the DTI, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Information and Communications Technology.
The IRR of Republic Act 11293, the law pushing for the adoption of innovation as vital driver of the country’s development policies, was signed on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019.
The law is set to provide incentives and remove tax constraints to startups and those that enable startups in the country to “foster an innovative entrepreneurial culture.” The law also tasks the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, together with the three other agencies, to create Philippine startup ecozones or special economic zones.
It will also create a Startup Venture Fund (SVF) under the DTI and will be administered in coordination with the National Development Company.
According to the law, the SVF shall be used to match investments by selected investors in startups based in the Philippines.
The new law sets priority areas for innovation which include food security and sustainable agriculture, the blue economy, education and the academe, health, securing clean and reliable energy, climate change and disaster resilience, resource efficiencies, national and community-based comparative advantages in the context of global value chains, infrastructure needs and governance. (JOB)