CEBU, Philippines - Adding to the numerous innovations and programs that they have come up with for the continuous growth of the small and medium enterprises, PLDT SME Nation has again launched two new ways to help boost the SME industry.
PLDT SME Nation introduced its first ever business networking site for SMEs called SUKI (www.suki.net.ph) and the Shops.Work UnPlugged or SWUP which is a card payment system solution that is the first of its kind in the country which accepts both credit and debit cards for easier transactions for SME operators.
Christian Lim, the product manager of SUKI, shared that SMEs would now be able to expand their market reach through the “online business networking site” where they would have the chance to put up and promote their products.
Lim said that one of the problems that they saw for SME players was that they had difficulty in competing with large companies since “they are drowned by these corporations that have the capability to promote and advertise.”
He explained that with SUKI, which concept was combined with an online networking site that has been very popular these days and those of ecommerce sites, SME players would be able to advertise up to 200 products for free.
Lim said that the site would not only cater those selling products that could accommodate up to 40,000 registered SMEs but as well as those interested to buy.
PLDT SME Nation Marketing Head Amil Azurin said that through SUKI, entrepreneurs would have the chance not only to sell but interact with customers and fellow businessmen -- both foreign and local.
The site enables the entrepreneurs to control how their online store would look like and their products can be managed into catalogs for easy viewing, attaching images with product information that is easier for customers to view. The site also offers features like history of transactions made by previous customers and information on best sellers, highest rated product, and sales performance.
Azurin said that the online business networking site would also be supported with their other innovation which is the SWUP that makes easier business transactions and is assured of its reliability and affordability.
Blue Aldridge, industry solutions head of SWUP explained that SWUP is different from other existing offered card terminals as it accepts both credit and debit cards and does not require any minimum transaction for the owner to keep the machine.
Aldridge said that this would be very beneficial for SME players that are dealing with on the spot purchases from customers since they could make transactions anywhere as SWUP uses a single Electronic Fund Transfer-POS (EFT-POS) terminal that has wireless connection where owners could bring it along everywhere they go.
He said that this would be a win-win solution for both the owners and the customers as it offers convenience for both parties and it is secured.
For only P1,300 per month, owners could already avail of SWUP and after three years, Aldridge said that it would already be given to them with just only P300 per month to pay. SWUP accepts all major cards.
Nilo Bantilan, business sales head for Visayas and Mindanao said that despite the presence of the global financial crisis, it would not stop entrepreneurs to find ways to promote their businesses and for PLDT to come up with new products that would help the businesses to develop.
“With these new innovations, we are very sure that the businesses especially for Visayas and Mindanao would really be better.”