ASEAN business leaders offer to help Philippine develop MSMEs

MANILA, Philippines — Business leaders across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have pledged to work with the Philippine government to help develop the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

This was conveyed by a delegation from the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council with top officials of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), who were in Manila recently in line with Indonesia’s chairmanship roadshow across the region.

ASEAN-BAC and KADIN Indonesia chairman Arsjad Rasjid said the Manila roadshow aims to strengthen trade and investment within the ASEAN region and also foster the bilateral partnership between the Philippines and Indonesia.

Indonesia is one of Philippines’ major trading partners with a total trade value of $9.5 billion per year. The Indonesian government also implemented a Philippines First Policy, which prioritizes Philippine agricultural goods for importation.

“We are doing a roadshow in every ASEAN country because we want to really hear the voice of business from each country. We need to make sure that we can make more trade and investment within us (ASEAN). The goal is ASEAN centrality. Innovation toward greater inclusivity. It means we cannot leave anybody behind,” Rasjid said.

ASEAN-BAC alternate chair Bernardino Vega said the chairmanship roadshow focuses on five key priorities including digital transformation, trade facilitation, health, food security, and sustainable development.

As part of the digital transformation priority, Vega said the ASEAN-BAC hopes to introduce to Philippine MSMEs the Wiki Wirausaha (WIKI) platform, which aims to provide MSMEs a digital space where they can market their products and services, not just to Filipinos, but also to Indonesians, and eventually, to the entire ASEAN region.

The ASEAN-BAC hopes to link up the WIKI platform with the existing ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN) in the Philippines, a modules-based training program for MSMEs facilitated by accredited mentors. AMEN was a legacy program of Go Negosyo founder and RFM president/CEO Joey Concepcion, when he held the ASEAN-BAC chairmanship in 2017.

MSMEs comprise more than 90 percent of the businesses in the ASEAN region, and employ more than 85 percent of the region’s workforce.