Slow internet curtails online business opportunities in Philippines

CEBU, Philippines - Unstable or slow Internet connectivity in the Philippines continues to impede Filipinos from maximizing online business opportunities.

OLX Philippines general manager Giancarlo Bonsel made this statement yesterday during the company's launching of "Win Together" campaign, an initiative to connect community from digital to offline through the OLX platform.

According to Bonsel, the Philippines as a country is a fertile ground for online trading platform like OLX, due to its technology-savvy population, but infrastructure like sluggish Internet connectivity stops people from doing business (selling pre-owned or brand new stuff)  online.

Despite its 10-year presence in the Philippine market, OLX formerly known as Sulit.com still registers an average of 40 thousand listings a day, which could have been higher if the mainstream population is provided with efficient and high-speed internet connection, Bonsel said.

OLX, an online portal that connects local people to buy and sell brand new and pre-owned items and services on the web, targets to grow 50 percent to 100 percent in terms of listing volumes daily online, but unless the connectivity problem is not addressed, this target is harder to reach.

By engaging a deep connection with the community, OLX wants to promote entrepreneurship starting in the online channel, regardless of age, profession, social status.

In order to help address the connectivity, as well as rate issues, OLX expressed willingness to work and partner with concerned agencies and communities to solve this problem.

He said the recent pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte to speed up the resolution of slow internet connection and curb abnormal rate charges, which is considered the most expensive in Asia, could open up opportunities for ordinary Filipinos to start business online.

Every month, millions of people in local markets around the world are already using OLX's online marketplace to find and sell wide range of products, including furniture, musical instruments, sporting goods, cars, kids and baby items, motorcycles, cameras, mobile phones, property, among others.

OLX is one of the world's top classified platforms available in more than 45 countries and over 50 languages. (FREEMAN)