Mailman got lost? Pinoy app seeks to locate your convoluted address on the map

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that a small group of entrepreneurs is working on an app that would “revolutionize the postal system” in the country, making it easier to locate places even in the absence of house numbers.

Called GeoPik, the app converts long addresses or the absence of house numbers into more exact, customizable, and easy-to-remember single codes. It seeks to provide additional information that could be more practical in pinpointing locations, such as “house with blue gate, in front of a mango tree,” said DTI.

Four Filipinos based in Singapore are currently working on the app that has yet to be launched. They are Francisco Liwa, Ivan Lacuesta, Rodessa Padrigano and John Ryan Loyloy.

“We want to solve the inefficiency of the Philippine Postal System. Our mission is to help people in the e-commerce, logistics and all location-dependent businesses in solving their customer location problems,” the team said on their website.

DTI said this was aligned with the government’s push to develop an innovative entrepreneurial culture.

Last year, the department launched the QBO Innovation Hub in its office in Makati City, the first public-private innovation hub in the Philippines that aims to provide support services to startups and innovation entrepreneurs.

The DTI’s Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Singapore said in a statement that it was supporting the startup culture in the city-state through investment seminars and online channels on entrepreneurship with the goal of providing more job opportunities for Filipinos.

“Startups play a pivotal role in driving innovation and economic growth hence we are happy to help GeoPik reach out to decision-makers and to potential users. We also look forward to work with more Filipino startups here in Singapore and the region and help them scale up,” said Commercial Counselor Glenn Peñaranda, who leads the PTIC in Singapore.