National poverty alleviation office, DTI, GCash encourage grassroots entrepreneurship through MSME webinar

More than 100 small business founders joined forces with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation (OPAPA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and GCash in Sumakses!, a three-part webinar series that champions inclusive entrepreneurship.

Through real-life MSME success stories and financial literacy lessons, the series equips aspiring entrepreneurs with tools like GCash for Business, GSave, GInvest, and GLoan to help them start, sustain, and grow their ventures. With MSMEs making up 99.5% of Philippine businesses, Sumakses! shows how grassroots entrepreneurship and financial inclusion can be a powerful driver of poverty alleviation.

Tanay MSMEs tackle tech tools to grow and #BeCyberSmart

In Tanay, Rizal, local MSMEs are leveling up—learning how to grow their business while staying safe online. 

Through a PLDT and Smart learning session, entrepreneurs discovered tools to connect with more customers, boost efficiency, and protect themselves from scams, phishing, and other cyber threats.

Because in today’s digital marketplace, smart business means secure business.

Read how PLDT and Smart are helping MSMEs #BeCyberSmart

GCash banners support for Filipino MSMEs at Singapore Fintech Festival 2024

Supporting the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from their inception to maturity will help build a stronger and more inclusive economy for the Philippines.

This was the key insight that GCash, the Philippines' leading finance super app and largest cashless ecosystem in the country, emphasized before global fintech leaders during the recent Singapore Fintech Festival, the premier financial technology event that brought together industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders from around the world.

During a panel discussion at the SFF 2024 main stage titled, "Safeguarding the Economy’s Backbone: Accelerating Global SME Financing through Digital Services”, GCash president and CEO Martha Sazon emphasized that supporting MSMEs is not merely about offering products or services, but about enabling these businesses to reach their full potential.

"We journey with our customers from being small and struggling to growing and becoming bigger because each MSME is on a journey. At GCash, we are with them from the beginning of their dreams to the time they realize those dreams," Sazon said.

Sazon joined Ant International president Doug Feagin, Amazon vice president for payments for emerging markets Mahendra Nerurkar, Republic of Rwanda minister for ICT and innovation Hon. Paula Ingabire, and National Bank of Cambodia Governor H.E. Dr. Serey Chea.

Enabling the success of MSMEs

Having the largest cashless ecosystem in the Philippines with over 94 million Filipinos having tried the app, GCash has long recognized that MSMEs are the backbone of the Philippine economy. Sazon described the Philippine economy as, “highly micro-enterprise.”

GCash has registered at least 6 million merchants in its ecosystem, including social sellers who face difficulty accessing traditional banking services and credit facilities. GCash bridges this gap by enabling MSMEs to access essential financial and merchant services with simplified onboarding processes.

A key aspect GCash proudly presented is its revolutionary approach to evaluating customer creditworthiness through its proprietary credit scoring model, an artificial intelligence-enabled system that uses digital behavior to allow merchants access to fair lending without the need for collateral.

Supporting the Philippines’ vision for financial inclusion and sustainable growth

In a separate session titled “Harnessing the Power of Technology Innovation to Propel MSME Sustainability,” GCash vice president and group head for new businesses Winsley Bangit sat down with Ant International chief sustainability officer and senior vice president Chen Leiming, and International Finance Corporation regional chief risk officer Vivek Pathak to discuss how technology can help build more sustainable businesses.

"MSMEs play an important part in our journey in the Philippines. 99.5% of businesses in the Philippines are MSMEs. Unfortunately, according to our studies, 66% of those will close shop in the next two years because many of them are unprepared for operational and external shocks. Our role is to make sure that the success of MSMEs is sustainable through simpler and more accessible digital financial solutions that can help them grow," said Bangit.

Looking ahead to 2025, GCash is poised to continue driving financial inclusion and accessibility, particularly by helping informal merchants access the same opportunities as large corporations and conglomerates – helping build a stronger backbone for more sustainable and robust economic growth for the Philippines.

As part of the Philippine delegation during the three-day event hailed as among the biggest annual gathering of fintech leaders worldwide, GCash joined over 65,000 participants from 134 countries, including representatives from more than 10,000 organizations, 3,400 government and regulatory attendees, 665 central banks, 600 exhibitors, and 41 international pavilions. This global platform fostered meaningful collaborations to catalyze significant change across borders.

For more information on how GCash is supporting MSMEs and promoting financial inclusion, visit GCash.com.

PLDT, Smart equip farmers and MSMEs with AI and cybersecurity skills

PLDT and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) continue to drive digital skills development for farmers and MSMEs in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, by equipping them with essential artificial intelligence (AI) knowledge and cybersecurity awareness.

PLDT Enterprise and DTI Strengthen Joint Commitment to Empower MSMEs Nationwide

In a joint effort to bolster the digitalization of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), PLDT Enterprise and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have solidified their partnership to provide small business owners across the country with the digital tools and support needed to thrive in today’s competitive market.

GCash champions digital financial inclusion at DTI's MSME Summit 2024

Empowering MSMEs with GCash! As a key partner in the digital economy, GCash provides quick access to cash, business loans, and digital tools to help MSMEs thrive.

During the National MSME Summit 2024, organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), GCash showcased its services like GCredit and GLoans which were highlighted for their significant impact on financial inclusion

PLDT, Smart, TikTok Shop scale digital upskilling, reaching more MSMEs and coops nationwide

PLDT and Smart have expanded their eBiznovation initiative, a digital upskilling-to-ecommerce program that aims to provide local entrepreneurs, cooperatives and Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), with the right digital tools to help them grow their businesses online.

PLDT, Smart showcased their homegrown eBiznovation program during Digicon

Scaling up eBiznovation, PLDT and Smart have started utilizing other platforms to promote the program and encourage more partners to extend opportunities from digitalization among all sectors.  

“At PLDT and Smart, we believe that collaboration is key to advancing the goals of eBiznovation and achieving them more efficiently. By working with like-minded partners from various industries, we are able to boost our efforts to digitally upskill and assist local enterprises, helping them to increase productivity and income through digital technology," said Stephanie V. Orlino, AVP and head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart.

Innovative business leaders at the SME Panel during Digicon

Leaders and experts from the technology industry joined the discourse on the vital role of supporting small- to medium-scale local enterprises and their contribution towards the country’s economic growth at the recent Philippine Digital Convention 2023 (PH Digicon 2023) organized by PLDT Enterprise.  

“Our clients and partners have so far done an amazing job in driving the evolving digital landscape of the MSMEs. During this gathering at Digicon, PLDT Enterprise recognizes and celebrates MSMEs as the life force of our country,” said Euan Rex Toralballa, Customer Relationship Management Head for Luzon at PLDT Enterprise.

 

"TikTok Shop connects Filipino MSMEs with the wider TikTok community, allowing them to reach a broader market and expand from offline to online. Through PLDT and Smart's eBiznovation Buy Local Bazaar on TikTok Shop and in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry, we have enabled Filipino farmers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to gain direct access to consumers and expand their revenue opportunities by onboarding them onto TikTok Shop. We are committed to building the digital capacity of Filipino MSMEs and enabling them to grow and expand their business," said Toff Rada, Head of Public Policy for TikTok in the Philippines.

A digital convention where global industry mavens, thought leaders, and pioneers in technology come together to help drive technological enablement for enterprises, PH Digicon has served as a hub for innovation, digital transformation, and technology advancements in the Philippines. 

The PLDT Group continuously finds ways to promote inclusive technologies that can help boost livelihood opportunities among farmers and fisherfolk, leaving no one behind. The eBiznovation program also highlights the PLDT Group’s support to the government’s Go Digital Pilipinas Movement as a founding member of the Digital Infrastructure pillar of the Private Sector Advisory Council, which seeks to uplift the lives of Filipinos through adoption of digital services.

Filipino MSMEs can now reach international markets through Shopee’s #TatakPinoy International

Shopee Philippines has announced the debut of #TatakPinoy International, a program that allows Filipino MSMEs to market their local items to Shopee consumers in Singapore and Malaysia. 

FullFill’s game-changing operations ecosystem empowers Filipino MSMEs, supports holistic growth for emerging entrepreneurs

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the new drivers of the economy – making up 99.58% of the total enterprises that operate in the country, and employing 63% of the country’s workforce. FullFill (We Empower Ecommerce Solutions, Inc.) recognizes their role in driving holistic nationwide growth as the company delivers end-to-end operations solutions for emerging entrepreneurs nationwide.

FullFill founders Joy Chua (left) and Che Secillano (right)

DTI Go Lokal partners with Kalocal by 1Export to introduce MSME products to the global market

Go Lokal! is a flagship program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that aims to help the country's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make their products more accessible to new markets. It is a marketing platform that promotes the incubation and mainstreaming of MSME products and is provided for free by the DTI and its retail partners. The program supports a wide range of manufacturing sectors including food and beverage, lifestyle, fashion, home décor, and health and wellness and showcases unique and quality products with compelling stories on the Filipino’s craftsmanship and ingenuity.

Globe Business boosts online sales of businesses through Saludo SMEs Digistore

Globe Business invites Filipinos to support local MSMEs. Recently, they held an online Digistore event to level-up the online presence of micro, small and medium businesses. 

Globe Business' Saludo SME campaign, which debuted just last year, helps boost the sales of its partner MSMEs. This year's Saludo SME campaign hopes to inspire and cheer Filipino entrepreneurs to continue moving forward despite changing times as Globe Business stands by them, providing solutions to help them thrive every day.

PayMaya Negosyo's 'Bizkarte' program supercharges MSME growth and recovery

As the whole country adapts to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many enterprising Filipinos are turning their entrepreneurship drive into full-fledged businesses, utilizing the power of social media and cashless payments technologies.