OFWs can pave the way for MSMEs to go global

CEBU, Philippines — Tap the over 10 million Filipinos working and residing abroad to make your way through to the global market, this according to Filipino-American startup advocate Winston Damarillo as he encouraged micro-entrepreneurs to find a leverage in the bigger market.

"Let us balance on how we look at them [OFWs]" Damarillo said explaining that these global Pinoys are not just heroes in boosting the country's economy through remittances, but they can also be good ambassadors of Pinoy brands in the international market.

In this era of open market, the world is already becoming a market for players. Filipino entrepreneurs should leverage the presence of Pinoys in almost every part of the world.

He said it is a good way to "celebrate our internationality."

Tapping the world market, he said is not only for businesses that can afford to make presence and promote their brands abroad, and engaging these millions of Filipinos overseas would be a good start for small businesses.

"They [global Pinoys] patronize our exports. They miss the Philippines," added Damarillo.

The Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that money sent home by OFWs picked up where it left off last year by opening 2018 strong.

As of January this year, cash remittances, or remittances formally channeled through banks, totaled $2.379 billion in January 2018, representing 9.7 percent year-on-year growth from January 2017.

Remittances from land-based workers at $1.9 billion and sea-based at $500 million also increased by 8.4 percent and 15.3 percent respectively.

These remittances came mainly from the United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan, Qatar, Canada, Kuwait, and Germany. These countries accounted for more than 80 percent of total cash remittances.

Damarillo said there is also another side of seeing these OFWs, they are also the biggest market that small businesses should be tapped in order to become a global player.

This kind of strategy will be further expounded during the upcoming OCEAN 18 (Open Collaboration for East Asian Nation) forum set on July 27, 2018 in Cebu at the Movenpick Resort and Spa in Mactan.

Chamber beat

Among the many roles of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is to act as a catalyst of establishing trade links between member companies and local/foreign corporations through organizing business fora and matching activities that aim to highlight opportunities leading to successful business partnerships.

CCCI partners with other organizations for the match PR in Cebu

CCCI co-organized the Meet the ASEAN Talents and Champions (MATCH) Philippine Roadshow , an event organized by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) together with Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Go Negosyo and SGV & Co (EY Philippines) last July 10 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu City.

CCCI worked closely with Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Startup PH, Techtonic, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., Cebu Innovation Council and Cebu IT BPM Organization and other partners from the startup community including enablers nationwide to facilitate this roadshow across all sectors, and linking them to top global and local investors.

The MATCH Philippine Roadshow is a deal-making platform, a curated portal connecting capital to opportunity, supporting start-ups and growth enterprises in ASEAN.

For the Luzon run, the event was held in Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City last July 9.

Participants were from ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines, startup companies, startup enablers (private and public sector) and media.

ASEAN BAC Philippines Chairman Joey Concepcion graced the event as speaker with other top ASEAN business leaders. He discussed the Digitize ASEAN, which brought insights to the participants on the key players in the digital economy.

This event was able to spread and amplify the awareness about the MATCH Deal-making platform and shared about the innovative startup ecosystem of Singapore with Philippine startup founders. In addition, it was a perfect avenue where non-fintech startup founders and members from the Philippines learned about MATCH and had the chance to network with multi-stakeholders in the local start-up community.

Further, participants, most especially Philippine Startups, were encouraged to sign up for the MATCH Deal-making Platform until July 31.