Ready support for budding entrepreneurs

There has never been a more promising time to start a business in the Philippines. Building a successful enterprise requires four key ingredients: a compelling idea, the drive to pursue it, access to capital, and a strong, welcoming community.

While the first two depend on the individual, the latter are increasingly within reach — thanks to expanding government programs and a growing culture of support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Earlier this year, the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) financing arm, Small Business Corp. (SBCorp.), announced that it was allocating over P8 billion in 2025 to support MSMEs through three new loan programs: Business Expansion Financing, Purchase Order Financing, and Franchise Funding.

In addition to these new programs, P2 billion will be allocated for the continuation of the Enterprise Rehabilitation Financing program, and P3 billion for the RISE UP Multi-Purpose Loan program.

According to the DTI, these financing programs will be crucial tools in supporting MSMEs’ growth and job creation. In particular, the three new programs will support existing businesses in expanding or diversifying their business, as well as returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who wish to license a franchise.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise Rehabilitation Financing program and the RISE UP Multi-Purpose Loan program will aim to help MSMEs affected by natural disasters like tropical storms and the Mt. Kanlaon eruption, and finance any gaps in their businesses.

MSMEs account for over 99% of registered businesses and 66% of the country’s labor force.

In March, the DTI also announced that it joined forces with state-run Development Bank of the Philippines and mobile wallet players GCash and Maya to establish a P500-million lending program for micro enterprises, particularly sari-sari stores and market vendors.

The program will be piloted in Cebu, which has a large number of sari-sari stores, before eventually being made available to Metro Manila and the rest of the country.

Furthermore, more recently, the agency is also working with GCash to make payment and business solutions, such as GCash SoundPay, more accessible through their to-be-launched GCash for Business Portal.

This initiative will help MSMEs in rural and underserved areas process transactions seamlessly through the GCash digital platform. The toolset stands to benefit over 1.2 million MSMEs in the Philippines.

Of course, the availability of digital tools for enterprises matters little if the entrepreneurs themselves lack the digital literacy to take full advantage of them.

According to research by the Boston Consulting Group, digital adoption remains low in the country, with only 16% of Filipino MSMEs embracing digital tools. This is despite 77% of MSMEs recognizing the need for such digital solutions to improve efficiency.

Addressing this was the goal of a collaboration between the DTI and the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Council, Global MSME Academy and Go Negosyo. For MSME Development Week last July, the groups gathered to launch the MSME Bayanihan Caravan with the theme “Asenso Negosyo, Angat Kabuhayan: Bagong Pilipinas.”

The caravan brought together speakers from various institutions including Globe, Maya, GCash and PLDT to share innovative approaches that MSMEs can apply to enhance and future-proof their businesses.

The MSME Bayanihan Caravan served as a platform for entrepreneurs to learn, network and adopt forward-thinking strategies in business, supporting the goal of building a more resilient and inclusive economy under the current administration’s vision of “Bagong Pilipinas.”

“We will continue providing capital to even more entrepreneurs so they can start small businesses or microenterprises, with low interest and no collateral. This includes funding and protection for intellectual property as well,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said in his State of the Nation Address last July.

“We will not stop until we’ve helped nearly 2.5 million poor families establish their own small businesses.” — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran