Students taught the basics of e-commerce
Fifteen schools in Cebu sent their students to the Ureka Forum, which held an e-commerce and digital marketing training at the University of San Carlos yesterday.
The Ureka Forum, an association of the country’s e-commerce leaders and experts powered by UnionBank, aims to educate and convert Filipino businesses to e-commerce.
“We hope that by empowering you, you become our foot soldiers to put micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) businesses online,” Ureka executive director and vice president of UnionBank James Morris Ileto said.
Business Development Head of Air21 Global Mark Joseph Panganiban talked about the challenges and opportunities of e- commerce in the country.
“For MSMEs, there’s a lot of opportunity because online shopping places second in the country’s top activities online,” Panganiban said.
Panganiban also noted that the common challenges of e- commerce are that majority of Filipinos don’t have access to credit cards or ATMs, the fragmented geography of the country, slow and limited internet access, online security, and lack of knowledge on how online MSMEs work.
Topics such as creating an effective online marketing pitch, Facebook ad placement marketing, and digital strategies were also discussed by e- commerce specialist Eireen Diokno-Bernardo and Department of Trade and Industry 7 Director Asteria Caberte.
The flagship program has been hosting e-commerce seminars, trainings, and talks all around the country, with their latest in Iloilo, Davao, and Baguio.
Schools that participated in the forum were the University of San Carlos, University of San Jose-Recoletos, Cebu Institute of Technology, University of Cebu, Datamex Institute of Computer Technology, Benedicto College, Informatics Institute, La Consolacion College, Saint Theresa’s College, Saint Paul College Foundation, Asian College of Technology, Cebu Eastern College, University of the Philippines, Tisa National Highschool, and STI Cebu. /