By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government is aiming to "ease the pain of getting into business" through a February 5 launch that will cut this process by more than 50 per cent for some.

Marlon Johnson, the acting Financial Secretary, told Tribune Business that the Government had moved to "streamline the application process" for start-ups and entrepreneurs by creating a single online "interface".

He added that this portal would cut down the time, cost and inconvenience associated with obtaining Business Licences through enabling new firms to also apply for other permits they needed, such as those from Town Planning, Building Control and the Department of Environmental Health Services (DEHS).

Mr Johnson said new companies will also be able to set-up the payment of National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions via this portal, as the Government embraces technology to reduce the need for entrepreneurs to physically visit multiple agencies prior to incorporation.

Pledging that the Government was "moving from a bureaucratic-driven approach to a customer-centric approach", the acting Financial Secretary added that the portal/interface was only "phase one" of plans to ease the start-up burden and enable more Bahamians to get into business.

He revealed that the next stage would involve making recommendations to government policymakers about changes to the law, especially the Business Licence Act 2010, that would further facilitate entrepreneurs and start-ups.

"What we have undertaken to do is make it easier for people to get into business," Mr Johnson told Tribune Business. "What we are seeking to do in early February is launch phase one of the exercise to make it easier for people to get into business.

"We're streamlining the application process for people opening a business, who maybe require approvals from Town Planning, Ministry of Works, even Department of Environmental Health, to give them a single online application for that."

Mr Johnson said the move was "consistent" with the Government's goal to improve the Bahamas' public sector processes and 'ease of doing business', adding that the initiative was based on feedback not only from the administration's 'ease of doing business' committee but the broader private sector.

He added that the single online "interface" connection would better enable the Government to provide new businesses with all necessary information, as well as provide a "more user friendly" experience that reduced start-up time and costs.

"That's the ambition," he told Tribune Business. "For some businesses we have seven steps, and we've been able to cut that down to three. Some businesses are very simple.

"While we're trying to make it streamlined and more straightforward, a lot of these processes are required by law. In phase two we will be proposing to policymakers amendments to the law to allow people to get into business quicker, and streamline some of the processes in the Business Licence Act 2010.

"That currently requires certain regulatory elements to be done prior to approval. We want to see how to streamline that."

Mr Johnson continued: "The ambition is to make it very simple and straightforward for people to get into business. We have been ranked in the low rungs for countries on the ease of doing business, and believe we have a tremendous opportunity to improve that ranking and ease the pain for people getting into business.

"That's the Government's stated objective, and our goal is to give life to that by making better use of technology, streamlining the process internally and streamlining the time to get into business and receive a Business Licence. We're looking at that over the next year, and will make substantial changes."

The acting Financial Secretary said the Government ultimately wanted to make the Business Licence application process "app driven", and added: "The technology exists. We want to make it easier, simpler, better.

"That's our overriding philosophy. We're moving from a bureaucratic-driven approach to a customer-centric approach, looking at it from the perspective of persons doing business."

Mr Johnson said the Government would not achieve all its goals in 2018, and acknowledged that there may "be some growing pains" with the new interface that require "tweaking" as it moves forward.

He promised, though, that the private sector will see "a notable change".