Out of 60 countries, the Philippines ranked 49 in ease of starting businesses in the 2006 World Competitiveness Report. Even with the establishment of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (NERBAC) to fast track investment inflows, applications for business licenses in the country were still widely perceived as cumbersome. This was attested by the 2010 Doing Business Report where the Philippines ranked 162 out of 183 countries in terms of ease in business start-up transactions.

In response, the Asian Development Bank assisted the Philippines in creating a proprietary online processing system for business registration and license renewal through the Developing the Philippine Business Registry Project in 2003.

The project enabled the Philippines, through its Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to simplify the processes involved in starting a business by developing the DTI NERBAC Unified Form. This electronic form allows users to input business application details onto an “intelligent” form which identifies potential user error, does away with redundant information, and calculates application fees. This form is also flexible so that local governments can tailor it according to their specific requirements and easily integrate it into a complete workflow.

The project has not only facilitated investment inflows in the Philippines, through the development of the DTI NERBAC Unified Form. It also illustrated that creating eforms for governments does not have to be costly. The project costs only Php200,000, and this amount included form development, training, consulting and implementation. In addition, eforms reduce the number of transactions investors have to make, which in turn, help minimize corruption in applying for business licenses.