Apec business leaders support Iloilo initiative

ILOILO CITY—Business leaders from the member-states of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation have expressed support for the proposed Iloilo Action Initiative, which seeks to develop the Internet and digital economy ecosystem and agenda in the region.

Doris Magsaysay Ho, 2015 chair of the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac), noted that embracing e-commerce to accelerate the MSMEs’ access to international markets and integration in the global supply chains was one of the group’s priorities for this year.

“We need to leverage on the growing Internet usage, burgeoning middle class, and the increasing accessibility and affordability of technology to enable our micro, small, and medium sized enterprises to enter the global market. E-commerce has evolved into a regular marketplace option for many buyers,” Magsaysay Ho explained.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to capture a 33.4 percent share of the global e-commerce sales by end 2015, according to research by eMarketer.

These upward regional and global e-commerce trends thus “present great opportunities for MSMEs to expand their market base, widen their business networks, and in- crease their sales toward sustained growth,” Magsaysay Ho added.

The Iloilo Action Initiative is expected to outline specific steps to bring ecommerce to the doorstep of the MSMEs.

The initiatives are designed to enable small firms to access the regional and global markets.

“In Boracay, the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs was approved and then in Cebu, the Cebu Action Plan for Inclusive Financing was approved. And we hope that the Iloilo Action Initiative will be approved. All of these will serve as building blocks,” Magsaysay Ho said.

“What Abac pushes for is for leaders to adopt the policies needed. For instance, for innovation, that will require a whole ecosystem to be built, which included education, broadband. It falls now upon us to take those steps and implement them here,” she added.

Citing a study conducted by Abac with the USC Marshall School this year, Magsaysay Ho noted that the lack of readiness and capability of MSMEs to engage in e-commerce was a major stumbling block.

Problems with awareness, tech- nical ability, access to talent and financing all limit the growth potential of MSMEs, especially in developing economies, she said.

“For cross-border ecommerce to grow, epayment solutions must expand beyond traditional banking solutions. Governments must allow for new, innovative epayments solutions and avoid the vested interests of incumbents,” Magsaysay Ho explained.

The internationalization of MSMEs also required a solid vision for innovation that will allow our MSMEs to penetrate global markets and global value chains.

“We need an ecosystem that supports enterprise creation and increases innovation capabilities of MSMEs,” Magsaysay Ho added.

MSMEs account for over 97 percent of all enterprises and employ over half of the workforce across Apec economies.

MSMEs contribute significantly to economic growth, with their share of the GDP ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent among majority of the Apec economies.

MSMEs, however, account for only 35 percent or less of the direct exports.