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| (Image Source: MegaBites/UBX) |
Oriental Mindoro is set to become the first digital province in the country that will be powered by UBX, the leading open finance platform in the Philippines, as the local government beefs up its digital transformation initiatives to promote greater financial and social inclusion. Born out of the UBX-led Digital Transformation ng Pilipinas (DigiPinas), a multisectoral initiative for digital transformation in the government, the partnership will provide Oriental Mindoro with the necessary digital tools to bring government services closer to members of its community.
Under this partnership, UBX will equip the local government of Oriental Mindoro with open finance technology for payments, disbursements, and loans. It also includes support from its verticals i2i, the banking-as-a-service platform of UBX; BUx, an all-in-one payment gateway platform; Seekcap, its online lending platform; and AKIN, an open ecosystem for decentralized identity management. “Time and again, we have emphasized the important role that local government units (LGU) play in driving digital services that fully cater to their constituents on a more intimate scale. With Oriental Mindoro leading the pack, we are one step closer to realizing the government’s desire to pursue digital transformation,” said DigiPinas Spokesperson Mikan Leachon. In response to the call of Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, DigiPinas aims to drive the accelerated digital transformation in government to help bring essential and critical services closer to Filipinos. UBX is at the forefront of this initiative, providing its expertise in digital financial solutions to the national and local governments, especially those that are in the far-flung and rural municipalities.
With the support of DigiPinas and UBX, Oriental Mindoro can leverage digital solutions for all government transactions – from tax collections, and application processes, to payments. Aside from digital government transactions in the gubernatorial capital, Oriental Mindoro also plans to maximize the partnership to develop its tourism sector, capitalizing on the rise of domestic tourism in recent months. By enabling digital transactions in ports and transport terminals, Oriental Mindoro will provide visitors ease of travel when enjoying its vibrant cultural heritage or visiting pristine beaches and majestic mountains, or observing its diverse flora and fauna. “We hope that by being the country’s first-ever digital province powered by UBX, more and more people will be enticed to see Oriental Mindoro’s beauty for themselves. With the support of UBX, we will be able to support the vision of President Bongbong Marcos of a more digital Philippines. This partnership with DigiPinas will inevitably lead to a boost to our local economy and we hope that this starting point sets a good example for other provinces to follow,” said Oriental Mindoro Governor Hon. Bonz Dolor.
The partnership also seeks to benefit the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which include sari-sari stores, carinderia, and small stalls that rely on loans to sustain their businesses. SeekCap provides entrepreneurs with democratized access to loans that they need to expand their businesses. Additionally, i2i can empower MSMEs to become cash agents, enabling them to process financial transactions similar to banks. “Financial and social inclusion is not a one-man job. It is of utmost importance that there is cooperation among all those involved. We highly encourage the local government leaders from across the archipelago to pursue the same path as Oriental Mindoro to improve the lives of their constituents in the modern-day Philippines,” said UBX President and CEO John Januszczak.
As a strong ally of the local government, UBX has also supported the local government of Oriental Mindoro in providing relief for those that were affected by the recent oil spill incident in the area. UBX turned over sacks of rice to the local government to aid their local relief operations. These will be for distribution to affected families whose livelihoods were hit by the oil spill from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress. “We are one with the local government of Oriental Mindoro in immediately addressing this disaster. We hope that in helping with the relief efforts we could make an impact in the lives of the victims of the unfortunate incident,” Januszczak said.
