Artificial intelligence gives Philippine entrepreneurs a competitive edge

AMARI NEIL B. DIMAFELIZ, 18, first turned to artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023 when his small 3D-printing business started growing faster than he could manage.

- Beatriz Marie D. Cruz Reporter

Running a youth-led enterprise with limited manpower, he struggled to find employees willing to work for someone still in college. “My age has been an obstacle to hiring people, so I turned to AI because it’s not selective in who it’s performing for,” he said by telephone.

Instead of hiring extra staff, Mr. Dimafeliz invested in a P100,000 printer with AI features that automatically checks the quality of his customized products, which include keychains, figurines, thesis prototypes, coasters, ballpens and pencil cases.

“On the operational side, our printers use artificial intelligence for precautionary measures when there are failures in printing,” he said.

AI also helps market his products. He uses it to generate captions and images for his small business’ social media pages, a task that once ate up hours of his time. For a full-time mechanical engineering student at Mapua University, AI has become a crucial tool for balancing academics with entrepreneurship.

Stories like Mr. Dimafeliz’s illustrate how AI could reshape the way micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) operate.

MSMEs account for about 99% of all businesses in the Philippines, yet adoption of advanced digital tools remains low. As of 2021, only 14.9% of firms had integrated AI, according to the government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

AI has the potential to transform these businesses, said Ian Jester M. De Vera, head of the research division at the University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries (UP ISSI).

"Some of the tasks of MSMEs are just repetitive, so if they're going to leverage AI, they will do away with these tasks," he told Business World by telephone.