On Tuesday, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader officially opened Eficompras, the country’s first government-owned virtual procurement store, built to reshape how state agencies source common goods while opening new doors for small domestic businesses. Developed in-house by the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP), the new platform integrates directly into the nation’s existing Electronic Public Procurement System (SECP) and is designed to cut through red tape for low-value purchases capped at 268,111.38 Dominican pesos.
Previously, government procurement for everyday goods required multi-day approval and processing workflows that often put smaller suppliers at a disadvantage. With Eficompras, participating vendors can upload their full product inventories to a searchable online catalog, allowing public institutions to browse, select, and complete purchases in just minutes, rather than waiting days for bureaucratic sign-off.
Following a smooth successful pilot program hosted at the Dominican Ministry of Finance, the platform is now rolling out to all state institutions connected to the country’s Integrated Financial Management System (SIGEF). Per official Resolution PNP-07-2026, use of Eficompras will be mandatory for all government entities covered under Law 47-25, with a 90-business-day window granted for agency staff adaptation and training.
DGCP Director General Carlos Pimentel outlined that a core policy goal of the platform is to expand participation in public procurement for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with a targeted focus on supporting women-owned business operations. The initiative also prioritizes boosting purchases from local and regional producers, as well as scaling up acquisition of environmentally friendly goods. Unlike many large-scale government digital projects, Eficompras was fully developed by DGCP internal teams rather than outsourced to third-party private firms. Its full intellectual property is officially registered with the Dominican National Copyright Office (ONDA) and held exclusively by the Dominican state.
The purchasing process is structured for maximum simplicity: users complete transactions in just three steps, selecting desired products, adding items to a virtual cart, and confirming the final order. Every transaction generates a fully traceable public record, addressing longstanding transparency concerns in public procurement, and all purchases are tied directly to suppliers’ current available inventory to prevent delivery delays.
Speaking at the launch event, President Abinader emphasized that Eficompras marks a key milestone in his administration’s push to modernize public administration. He noted that since taking office, the total number of registered government suppliers has grown by roughly 25%, a shift he attributes to ongoing policy reforms designed to make public contracting more accessible to a broader range of businesses.