USAID, DTI, fintech team up to include youth in GenSan MSMEs digitalization
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The United States government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in General Santos City and financial technology providers to ensure that marginalized youth are included in local business growth through the digitalization of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Leading mobile wallet apps GCash and Maya, as well as the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and UnionBank of the Philippines, are joining the effort to ease marginalized youth and local businesses into the digital economy.
Organized through the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program, the forum titled, “DigiBiz: Redefining MSMES’ Future by Leveraging Workforce and Digital Technologies,” gathered around 50 business owners, government officials, and youth to discuss strategies that would enable MSMEs to accommodate consumers more effectively through fintech tools and other virtual platforms, with the help of a young and dynamic workforce to help them thrive in the digital world.
“Gen Z are the so-called ‘digital natives,’ and the world they know is about the internet and social media,” said DTI Chief Trade Industry Development Specialist Eddie de Asis. “[They] will most likely take the lead among GenSan MSMEs in embracing digitalization and innovation.”
