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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/GCash) |
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 (SFF), 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,” said Sazon who 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.
