By Miguel Hanz L. Antivola, Reporter
DIGITAL upskilling for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can breed an inclusive movement nationwide with public-private collaborations and infrastructure investments.
“Those MSMEs in rural areas often lack access to digital tools and knowledge which puts them at a disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts,” Catherine L. Yap-Yang, first vice-president and corporate communications head at PLDT Inc., said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
“Collaboration and synergy among the key stakeholders are keys to creating not just a truly impactful digital upskilling movement, but a digital inclusion program for Filipino MSMEs,” she added.
The Philippines dropped to 59th place out of 64 economies in the 2023 global digital competitiveness index of the World Competitiveness Center of the International Institute for Management Development — its lowest ranking since the index started in 2017.
It was also among the lowest scorers in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking in at 13 — just ahead of Mongolia.
The country also fell five places to 60th out of 121 countries in the 2023 edition of Digital Quality of Life index by virtual private network service provider Surfshark, albeit better than the global and Asian averages.
Additionally, only 26% of MSMEs in the country are aware of digitization programs offered by the government and other institutions, according to a study by the Trade department included in their 2022 e-commerce roadmap.
Of the 400 MSMEs surveyed, the study showed very low digitization as 23% did not utilize information and communications technology tools for business, and 51% were at level 1, only utilizing basic digital tools, e.g., Microsoft Office, e-mail, personal computers, etc.
Moreover, only 6% have advanced usage of digital tools, having purely online businesses or using advanced data analytics and other digital tools.
MSMEs have rated the importance of digital innovation in business at 3.6 on an ascending scale of 1 to 5. Those who favored digital innovation said that it helps improve efficiency or productivity and customer experience.
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. have recently expanded its eBiznovation program to the Visayas through a bazaar caravan in partnership with TikTok.
eBizNovation is its digital upskilling-to-e-commerce program, which provides capacity-building trainings on digital entrepreneurship, and onboards merchants to an e-commerce platform.
For its latest outreach, PLDT and Smart tapped the local governments of Borongan City in Eastern Samar, Miagao in Iloilo, and Sibalom in Antique to deliver workshops on best practices for e-commerce and efficient online transactions.
The program has forged partnerships with government agencies, LGUs (local government units), local commerce chambers, and e-commerce platforms to aid in digitally thrusting MSMEs forward.
Ms. Yang said more than 21,000 MSMEs have been trained by eBizNovation over its two years of activity, and they hope to expand training in other areas such as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where they are also eyeing small business owners with disabilities.
She noted the continuous need to address the digital divide, “which makes it more challenging for MSME to participate in digital upskilling programs,” she said.
“And on a larger scale, to adopt and use digital technologies effectively for their businesses,” she added.
“We can work together to provide support, invest in infrastructure, and set up programs to help rural MSMEs improve their skills in order to help address some of the barriers mentioned.”
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.