The Board of Investments (BOI) recently launched the Industry and Investments Geomaps, a visual and interactive tool to support diverse industries in the Philippines in their business decision-making using the panoramic view of the country’s various sectors.
Coinciding with the celebration of the Agency’s 56th founding anniversary, the BOI rolled out the online tool in a ceremony held online on Sept. 15, 2023. Through the Geomaps, enterprises can harness data that will enable them to identify optimal locations, ongoing trends, business opportunities, and which areas to target, among others. By using an inclusive and targeted approach to identifying industry needs, the Geomaps can drive innovation and economic growth in the country.
In her opening remarks, Industry Development Service (IDS) Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa pointed out that through the Geomaps, there will be industry clustering with 12,650 points that would transform investments in the country.
When typhoons and volcanic eruptions besieged the country, she recounted that the BOI used the Geomaps to support the firms in their requests. At the height of the Delta surge during the pandemic, the Geomaps helped the BOI in managing the oxygen supply in the critical areas of the country.
“We are publicly launching Geomaps as a resource for your various search needs,” she told the participants, pointing out that the tool can be used for many purposes, such as finding supply chain partners for a firm’s operation.
The tool is a work in progress but it can already be used for many reasons with its features: plotted points of interest, web-app display, industry mapping and clustering, company locator, and distance calculator (for value chain analysis).
Meanwhile, BOI Director for Investments Policy and Planning Sandra Marie Recolizado emphasized that the Geomaps can convert raw data into a powerful visual representation, pointing out that it is a window into the heart of the country’s industries.
According to Director Recolizado, the Geomaps will optimize information across different geographical locations and improve strategic decision-making in supply chain management to get a better picture of the industries.
“It’s about support. This is a support program for local industries, big and small, for them to have easy access to important data for development analysis. Also, the tool could pinpoint challenges and opportunities with unparalleled data,” she said.
Through the Geomaps, investors can identify potential suppliers near their location as well as suitable areas of operation. In particular, the plotted points of interest on the map are seaports, airports, power plants, the nearest source of power, schools, economic zones, BOI-registered firms, shared services facilities by the DTI, and PEZA-registered enterprises.
According to Francis Penaflor of the BOI’s Resource-Based Industries Service (RBIS), the Geomaps can be used in multiple ways to maximize its benefits, such as gauging the strength of the supply chain, achieving food security, and gathering industry competitiveness information on raw materials and providers. Further, the tool would help in localizing the supply chain, and it could be used as a planning tool for contingency.
During the program, some firms sent their congratulations to the BOI for launching the innovative and interactive tool. Contact Center of the Philippines (CCAP) congratulated the BOI and DTI, recognizing the benefits they can reap from the tool.
“This will be useful for our member companies and investors for their site selection process,” they said, commending the initiative.
Moreover, the BOI encourages all companies that have used Geomaps to delve deeper into the tool and provide valuable feedback to enhance the tool’s effectiveness and better tailor it to their specific requirements.
The Industry and Investments Geomaps can be accessed via www.boi.gov.ph/geomaps.