MANILA – Philippine micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need stronger support in e-commerce, logistics, cross-border trade and financing to expand into overseas markets, executives of logistics firm DHL said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the GoTrade Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Tuesday, DHL Group Head of GoTrade Sarah Meinert said SMEs worldwide continue to face four major challenges: access to financing, skills and knowledge, information and communication technology, and logistics.
Meinert said building a more integrated support ecosystem could help Philippine MSMEs move beyond the domestic market.
“If we can bring together this holistic ecosystem for SMEs here in the Philippines, not only our logistics solutions, but also solutions of other partners, then we can truly enable them to go beyond the borders of the Philippines,” she said.
MSMEs account for about 99.6 percent of businesses in the country but contribute only around 40 percent of annual domestic output.
DHL Express Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer Ken Lee said stronger participation of MSMEs in international trade could help boost exports and support broader economic growth.
While he did not give a specific estimate of how much MSMEs could raise their share in gross domestic product, Lee said the participation of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Customs in the summit reflected government commitment to helping smaller businesses grow.
“It’s a form of commitment that they believe that MSMEs will propel the next wave of growth,” Lee said.
He added that the GoTrade program aims to provide MSMEs with practical support, including information on financing, market access and new technologies, to give business owners greater confidence in joining global trade.
The GoTrade Summit was organized by DHL, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
