Advocating how teaching technology enablesbusinesses to recover from the effects of the pandemic, PLDT Enterprise—together with Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila and Go Negosyo—held the first in a series of virtual workshop for entrepreneurs to help them pivot and emerge unbreakable in the new chapter of business.
During the first leg of the #UnbreakableMSMEs: Road To Recovery Virtual Workshop, Go Negosyo Founder & Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion emphasized how digitalization plays a key role to help spur economic recovery and aid businesses to continue their operations despite mobility restrictions.
Concepcion noted the prevalence of e-wallets among Filipinos especially in the pandemic. Digital payments have grown tremendously which gave customers alternative means for convenient, safe, and secure transactions from the safety of their homes such as PayMaya.
“Offline is the traditional way of selling but this pandemic, which forced us to stay home, allowed digital platforms to explode… There are so many platforms that give you access to goods, services, and even shopping in groceries. All of this has brought about a new breed of entrepreneurs because of digital… And I think moving forward, this is how we are going to survive,” the Go Negosyo founder said.
Furthermore, Head of Enterprise Analytics and Insights for PLDT Enterprise Sandy Roque noted that this sector’s resilience depends on transformative programs that will embrace the new business norm with innovative entrepreneurship in these unprecedented conditions.
PHOTO: (L-R) [Row 1] PLDT Enterprise Vice President & Head for Small and Micro Business Chito Franco, Actress and host Regine Tolentino, [Row 2] Founder & Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion, Head of Enterprise Analytics and Insights for PLDT Enterprise Sandy Roque, PayMaya MSME Ecosystem Lead Iris Kwong, [Row 3] PLDT Enterprise Product Manager for BEYOND FIBER Mika Sta. Maria, Tangere CEO Martin Peñaflor
Roque said that, this market segment will need to overcome this challenge collectively, as businesses need to face the obstacle of low digital adoption, and the awareness of the available tools.
“While there is an increase in FinTech technologies, there is still a bit of lack of trust in FinTech solutions, and add by addressing the gap of access/connectivity particularly in the rural areas. It is simply bridging the gap on the awareness of the tools available that applies to this segment, factor in the reliable connectivity to operate their business will definitely not only allow them to survive in the post COVID19 world, but also give them a competitive advantage the market today,” he said.
With that, the PLDT Enterprise executive noted that it is imperative for service providers like PLDT to take part in sharing their knowledge and contribute to the rebuilding and re-learning processes to aid MSMEs that still don’t have the necessary skills to adapt to the digital economy.
Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, PLDT Enterprise Vice President & Head for Small and Micro Business Chito Franco lauded the unbreakable spirit of Filipino entrepreneurs to find ways to survive and come out stronger despite the current business challenges.
PLDT Enterprise has been enabling entrepreneurs by providing solutions and assistance that will empower their businesses amid the difficulties imposed by the pandemic. One of these services is BEYOND FIBER, a business-grade fiber enterprise plan powered by the 90-90 Advantage. The 90-90 Advantage ensure reliable connection at any time of the day by giving businesses a boosted minimum speed of 45Mbps or 90% of their subscribed speed at 90% reliability. Currently, this is being offered for only P90 pesos for the first 90 days to make the connectivity solution affordable for more MSMEs.
“We are reaching out to all MSMEs to extend our unbreakable commitment, and share our vision to help our MSMEs to be bold, our passion to help our MSMEs become brave to face the challenges ahead. PLDT Enterprise endeavors to assist MSMEs by providing relevant digital solutions that will help MSMEs transform and look further and beyond,” said Franco.
The #UnbreakableMSMEs Road to Recovery Virtual Workshop Series is part of PLDT Enterprise’s SMBiz Recovery Campaign which aims to extend financial and technological assistance to small-scale entrepreneurs.
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