By Marinel E. Peroy
GCash spearheaded its #TechForChange initiative by having the first-ever Inclusion In Action Summit 2024 at BGC, Taguig City.
From August 13 to 15, key topics include Financial Inclusion, Health, and Literacy; Understanding the Priority Sectors; and Recognizing How FinTech Can Help Fuel The National Economy.
GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon emphasized “actionable solutions”, noting her hope that the sessions would be an inspiration to “empower Filipinos to thrive every day [and] be ready for their rainy days.”
With experts, the summit aims to navigate “the current state of our economy and the social impact we can make to our MSMEs,” said Sazon. She also highlighted the central theme of how GCash can harness inclusive financing to fuel our economy.
In her presentation, Chief Economic Counselor and Department of Finance’s (DOF) Usec. Domini Velasquez shared that the Philippines has a consumer economy.
Based on the average GDP growth performance of ASEAN in Q3-22 to Q4-2024 (in present), the country is poised as one of the growth leaders in the ASEAN region, growing at an average of 6.1% since the new president took office. In addition, the Philippines is forecasted to be the world’s 13th-largest consumer market by 2030.
Aside from consumption through buying services, agri-products, and manufacturing, Usec. Velasquez noted how the digital economy serves as the driving force in our nation’s growth. She said that it contributes to 8.4% GDP or a generated value of PHP 2.05 trillion, having the digital sector grew by 7.7 percent. This also led to a surge in e-commerce markets and has boosted the potential for the government to bolster tax revenues.
With the vision of financial inclusion for all Filipinos, Velasquez shared the Bureau of Treasury’s Partnership with GCash Through GBonds, with offers such as Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds. Its key features include easy access, convenient registration, and free top-up and withdrawal — serving as a way to help people thrive in digital spaces.
Also, GCash fosters its services to serve all its users across various sectors, such as those users who are interested in entrepreneurship, showcasing a collective goal of Finance For All.
“Öur partnership with GCash has helped us improve our processes because we course our disbursements and even collection of our loans to MSMEs through GCash.” said Lourdes Rosario Baula, Head of Financing Sector (Small Business Corporation) – DTI. From loan features, criteria, and to application requirements, Baula shared the roadmap for increasing formal financing for women-led MSMEs.
“At the same time, [GCash] also helped our MSME borrowers manage their cash transactions,” said Baula.
#InclusionInActionSummit2024
#FinanceForAll
