Empowering MSMEs through financing, digital tools, and upskilling

IT IS OFTEN stated that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of an economy, recognizing their contributions to employment, income generation, and economic growth.

- By Jomarc Angelo M. Corpuz Special Features and Content Writer

GCash for Business General Manager Jong Layug stresses the need for MSMEs to use digital platforms, enabling their operations to become more efficient and seamless.

However, various challenges and roadblocks, such as access to capital, digital transformation, and a lack of capacity-building, have given rise to questions about the futures of these enterprises.

MSMEs made up 99.63% of the country's 1.246 million registered businesses and provided nearly 67% of employment, amounting to about 6.35 million jobs, according to the latest numbers of the Philippines Statistics Authority. This demonstrates how a thriving MSME sector brings economic value and visible societal change.

"MSMEs are pivotal in poverty alleviation, boosting regional economies, and enhancing domestic resilience," GCash for Business General Manager Jong Layug said in an email interview with BusinessWorld.

To maintain growth and help MSMEs thrive even more, Mr. Layug noted collaborations between the government and the private sector that could ensure that they are more included in national growth strategies. He noted, as an example, the Department of Trade and Industry's partnership with GCash for Business. The partnership aims to establish GCash for Business hubs within Negosyo Centers as a means to educate merchants and provide onboarding assistance for prospective users to effectively use their platforms.

"The collaboration aims to empower MSMEs through digitalization, making business operations more efficient and seamless," Mr. Layug said.

For example, merchants can now use the new GCash Sound-Pay device, which allows them to hear it when a customer pays in their store, providing them with verification that the payment has been accepted in real time.