Invest while dollar strong, Concepcion urges OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — Opportunity knocks for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to invest in the Philippines now that the dollar is stronger, a business leader said over the weekend.

Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion exhorted OFWs to invest wisely in the country to counter how the weaker peso may be wreaking havoc on consumer spending.

By doing so, OFWs investing in the country would also help promote inclusive economic growth and job generation, Concepcion said.

Last Friday, the peso closed at 58.95 to $1.

“OFWs are now seeing 12 to 13 percent more on every dollar they earn,” Concepcion said at the Laging Handa public briefing the same day.

In addition to remittances softening the blow of a strong dollar, the former presidential economic adviser said the higher earnings can be leveraged to achieve long-term growth if OFWs decide to invest in the country and become entrepreneurs.

He highlighted the significant contribution of OFWs since there are so many of them.

Their income is rising in terms of pesos but they should spend and invest it wisely,” he said. “Hopefully, our OFWs will have enough savings so they can come back, and start a small business so that they will not be forever working away from home.”

Concepcion, also lead of the Jobs Group of the Private Sector Advisory Council, said that OFWs should be encouraged to become entrepreneurs as this would redound to more jobs for Filipinos, especially in the provinces.

He emphasized that the government and private sector are also making it easier for OFWs to reintegrate as entrepreneurs by providing mentoring.

In line with these efforts, Concepcion announced that Go Negosyo will be hosting an OFW summit geared toward mentoring OFWs on entrepreneurship on Dec. 3.

Go Negosyo will also hold the “Digital SignUp Now” event on Oct. 24, which will explore digitalization as another avenue to make it easier for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to compete with even the big brands.

“Big companies are able to enter supermarkets and malls, but there is a cost to entry,” said Concepcion.

“With digitalization, it is all free but you must know how to put your products on these platforms and market them well,” he added.

The Go Negosyo founder stressed that the private sector is trying to make conditions favorable for MSMEs, such as working with the government to secure bivalent vaccines in order to prevent any more disruptions to the economy.

He added that manufacturing companies are stocking up on commodities to make sure there is enough supply of essentials such as sugar and flour through the Christmas season to the first quarter of 2023.

Concepcion explained that fourth-quarter economic activity will be crucial for business as it represents the peak of consumer spending.

“Hopefully, sales for the MSMEs will be good and they will have enough working capital to let them cross over to 2023,” he said.