Tag: SME

Philippines – To fully tap on the exporting potential of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines, local export startup 1Export is offering their services to leverage e-commerce capabilities of MSME to an international market.

Established in 2016, the startup offers its services by aiding enterprises in finding the right buyers online and what products will be deemed export-quality. This is then delivered across nine key international markets, of which businesses will take note of any compliance standards these key markets hold.

With the services being offered, the startup further extends its service by providing an eCommerce platform for MSMEs. From correct documentation to automated labeling using pictures, all are part of the startup’s goals of export efficiency for MSMEs.

“Exporting is often viewed as a tedious and laborious process. For most MSMEs, creating a truly globally competitive brand remains just a pipe dream. We believe that, when done right, exporting can be a powerful tool to showcase MSME talent, uplift the economy, and change the lives of people,” Daniel Remo, chief operating officer of 1Export stated.

CEO Mel Nava also commented, “We make them globally competitive so that they can export, we help them export so they can sell more, stay afloat, and serve the needs and wants of other markets.”

Manila, Philippines – To ensure local reach of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the Philippines, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines recently partnered up with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in launching ‘IPOPHL Mobiliz’, the office’s foray into mobile application reach.

Said application allows MSMEs to process intellectual property (IP) documents and requirements for IPOPHL within the app, as recent policy has mandated for all MSMEs to conduct their current IP filings online to ensure safety of stakeholders and its employees.

“Given that many of us spend most of our time on mobile, this development will help IPOPHL reach out to a wider audience and provide a convenient and faster way for securing intellectual property assets and further integrate IP in innovative, creative and entrepreneurial processes,” said IPOPHL director General Rowel S. Barba.

With the launch of the IPOPHL Mobiliz, the office has sought a partnership with DTI through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further promote IPs amongst the local MSME scene.

“IPOPHL’s efforts in digitalization will make government transactions more accessible and more convenient for all Filipinos. This will be a great gift to the Filipino people, aligned with the vision of the President to make lives more comfortable for our fellow Filipinos,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary Ramon M. Lopez stated.

Singapore—Small-medium enterprises (SME) in Asia Pacific are slowly making their way into being adoptive to today’s business changes across the digital transformation sphere, according to a report from IT and networking company Cisco and market intelligence firm IDC.

With more than 1,400 respondents across APAC SMEs, the report found out that there is a significant increase for digital adoption, showing a 16% growth for SMEs willing to integrate more digital transformation strategies, compared to the 11% growth last year.

On the other hand, 53% of SMEs showed initial willingness to be ‘observant’ at first for their small modern digital changes, while 31% of SMEs showed reactiveness to move into the digital market and are slow in their own transition.

The current COVID-19 pandemic proved to be one of the major reasons for digital transition of SMEs, as statistics showed that 94% of SMEs showed reliance on technological measures for their businesses. In regards to using digital business measures as a way to make roundabout on disruptive events i.e. the pandemic, 55% percent said that such measures are important and are crucial for the business framework.

Some of the leading goals for digitalization of SMEs include market expansion, improved customer experience (CX), prototype kickstart/startup, supply chain, among others.

Cisco estimates that with willingness from SMEs to conduct business presence online, such enterprises are forecasted to   bring $2.6–$3.1 trillion in GDP across Asia Pacific, suggesting faster economic recovery by 2024.

Manila, Philippines – As the Philippines continues to battle the impact of COVID-19, brands and companies from the private sector across various industries have banded together to help restart the economy while ensuring consumers’ health and safety. As a result, the Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat campaign was launched.

“Ingat Angat Tayong Lahat” which is a Filipino phrase for “take care” is a campaign aiming to help businesses gradually increase operations as well as to help build consumer confidence by reiterating the importance of standard safety practices against the virus, such as frequent washing of hands and constant wearing of masks and face shields. 

The campaign was built in direct support for an ongoing multi-sector initiative Taskforce T3 (Test, Trace, Treat), put together by the government in April 2020 to manage the outbreak of the pandemic.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said, “At this point in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, balancing health and the economy is our main priority. This is why we are pushing for the gradual and safe reopening of the economy. In line with the spirit of the campaign, we can only move forward by supporting and keeping one another safe while protecting lives and livelihoods.”

The Ingat Angat group calls for participation from businesses, both big brands and SMEs. In line with this, it has provided downloadable assets such as logo templates and design guides enabling brands to easily integrate the Ingat Angat visual identity to their system.  

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation and founding partner of TaskForce T3 stressed the importance of continued public-private sector cooperation. 

“The private sector has found a new front where we can be supportive of the fight against COVID, and that is in restoring the  confidence of our citizens that we can all resume our lives and livelihoods, so long as we strictly follow the minimum health standards recommended by health experts,” he said.

The campaign has already obtained the support of the biggest corporations and brands in the country, including Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Jollibee Foods Corporation, and McDonald’s Philippines. It has also partnered media outlets such as CNN Philippines, GMA, Kapamilya Channel, and news brands Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star. Meanwhile, agency partners include EON, HIT Productions, NuWorks, and Omnicom Media Group. 

The campaign was spearheaded by creative agency TBWA/Santiago Mangada Puno. 

Hong Kong – HSBC Hong Kong has rolled out a new business-to-business (B2B) digital community platform HSBC VisionGo. The platform will serve as an ecosystem for SMEs, startups, and prospective entrepreneurs where they can exchange dialogue for business insights as well as a place for networking. 

The platform is built on the company’s cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure. It employs machine learning technologies to offer personalized professional insights and networking opportunities through an AI-enhanced interface, along with new interactive features designed to further foster conversations and collaboration. 

The platform also enables SME operators to follow each other. Business topics can also be discussed among the community through interactive polling. In addition, SMEs can promote their own offers to create new business leads, or redeem available offers as added benefits. 

According to a recent HSBC report, 95% of Hong Kong businesses have extended support to, or have received support from other businesses they work with by exchanging expertise and sharing premises (50%), enabling others to get their products to customers (46%), or relaxing payment terms for their smaller partners (35%).

Terence Chiu, head of commercial banking at HSBC Hong Kong said, “HSBC is committed to investing in digital innovation to help Hong Kong’s SME sector. We are a connector in the business community, and we aim to use our strength to build a collaborative business ecosystem that will help businesses get through these challenging times and position themselves to make the most of the opportunities when they come.” 

A beta version of the platform was unveiled in March 2020. As the platform continues to develop, HSBC will be introducing features such as integration with its mobile payment service PayMe. 

Singapore – The COVID-19 crisis has forced companies to evaluate employees beyond their current roles and look closely at employee potential, capability, and most importantly, adaptability to change. In Singapore, building an agile workforce has emerged as a top priority for human resources (HR) and business leaders, according to a survey by global professional services firm Aon. 

A total of 415 HR leaders and professionals in Singapore were gathered for the survey, and 84% of them said that an agile workforce is now more important to the success of their business than ever before, with only 38% of them viewing their workforce as agile.

An agile workforce is referred to as quickly assigning new roles to employees to support changing business needs.

“This workforce agility gap between what employees can handle today versus what will be required of them in the near future is a major challenge for companies across industries,” said Na Boon Chong, managing director of Aon’s human capital for Southeast Asia.

“The main issue that businesses are facing today is reskilling the workforce in the right way. At the same time, the ease of remote working tells us that closing off borders to talent is not the solution,” Chong added

With companies eyeing to build a more agile workforce, there remains a challenge of how to create such an environment in an ongoing remote setup.

About 75% of companies in Singapore said they are investing in new tools and technology to improve productivity and collaboration, while more than half are providing employees with wellbeing tools and programs.

Additionally, 46% of respondents said that their companies have enhanced or are considering enhancing allowances and reimbursements to cover mobile phone, internet and home office expenses.

While the above measures go beyond simply identifying the roles that can or cannot work remotely, companies are still unsure of exactly how their working models need to change.

Aon recently held its Work, Travel and Convene Coalition, which gathers Singapore’s leading companies to develop key recommendations and guidelines on workplace processes as the society moves to a new normal. During the meeting, companies put forth the need to quantify the impact of remote work, observing that most Singapore companies have not yet started measuring remote productivity relative to pre-pandemic times.

Enhancing remote work arrangements will create new types of productivity measurements, especially around collaboration metrics, that are more suited to the agile workforce of the future. This was echoed by 84% of survey respondents who said that assessing employees for adaptability, collaboration and communications skills is extremely important in the current business climate.

“Creating agile workforces across industries will include data analysis, segmentation of the workforce, and a sustained period of experimentation, until the right mix of technology and human capital can be achieved,” said Alexander Krasavin, partner and regional commercial head of Aon’s human capital in APAC & MEA.

“Remote working has highlighted the massive shift in working models, bringing into sharper focus the issue of agility. Various sectors are thinking about these things differently — some are using data and questioning how to make remote work better. Others, such as technology companies, have taken a more bottom-up approach,” added Krasavin.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Evolution Wellness, the owner and operator of an Asia-wide network of fitness clubs has announced that it has launched a licensing program for one of its clubs, premium boutique gym FIRE Fitness.

FIRE Fitness was established in Malaysia in 2015 by fitness industry veterans who are also husband and wife, Dave Nuku and Tracy Minnoch-Nuku, and fitness veteran Rich Hutson.

There are currently four FIRE Fitness clubs, or Firestations as they are called, in Malaysia delivering virtual and physical proprietary classes.

Evolution Wellness CEO Simon Flint said that within the licensing program, fitness entrepreneurs will have access to its unique entry-level yet high-quality FIRE-branded HIIT studio, FIRE Revolution, which delivers a CapEx-light concept. 

Meanwhile, at the premium end of the spectrum, investors in a FIRE license will also have the option to open one or more proprietary studio concepts under the same roof, said Flint. 

“For example, our downtown Kuala Lumpur club is a three-studio outlet, delivering [the fitness programs] FORCE, STRIKE, and BARRE at [that] one location,” added Flint.  

According to Flint, licensees will benefit from the expertise and industry know-how of Evolution Wellness, and receive on-going support in the form of marketing materials and workout content among others. 

“The FIRE signature class innovation pipeline is strong, and we are committed to continuing to deliver new fitness experiences to the market, and with the look and feel of the brand being every bit as exciting as the classes delivered on a daily basis, we can’t wait to see how the global fitness market responds to this great opportunity,” said Flint. 

FIRE Fitness’s line of signature programs include proprietary classes BARRE, FORCE, and RIDE as well as STRIDE and STRIKE, and are designed “to deliver engaging and uplifting results-driven fitness experiences in an intimate boutique environment.”

STRIDE combines treadmill running, weight training, and body weight movement, while in a STRIKE program, treadmill work is replaced by boxing moves. 

RIDE Yoga, on the other hand, combines thirty minutes of high-intensity sprints, followed by a power yoga segment which presents participants with the thrill of HIIT cycling and the calmness of yoga.

“FIRE Fitness’s signature programs are time-efficient and geared towards delivering results while transcending various exercise modalities. [About] 80% of signature classes comprise fusion classes which not only challenge the body in new ways but also keep fans motivated with variety,” said the company in a press statement. 

This year, FIRE fitness expanded its classes to include virtual sessions, being able to sign up an audience from Asia and outside countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica. 

The COVID pandemic has seen a plunge in the employment rate for most industries and according to the Philippines’ statistics, the country’s unemployment has risen to 17.7 percent in April.

Homegrown super-service app MyKuya which launched in 2018 has been since handing out opportunities for its would-be partners, but the ongoing retrenchments in businesses have further proven the app’s value proposition.

MyKuya is a mobile-based application and technology platform which allows users to quickly hire trained partners to run jobs such as grocery delivery, personal shopping in malls, plumbing and carpentry works, and even on-demand tasks for small businesses.

These partners, called Kuyas and Ates (brother and sister), are able to become part of the on-call workers by signing up through the app, and going through just like any normal hiring process, that of with document requirements. 

As of current, the app has signed up 10,000 partners, and they are nowhere near from stopping at that, as MyKuya is rallying to create 1 million job opportunities by 2022.

With this massive goal, how do then the company plans to reach out to prospective Kuyas and Ates?

MyKuya’s Marketing and Communications Manager Gab Billones said that hyperlocalizaiton of content and simplification of narratives are some of its top strategies.

“One of the most effective strategies that we do is hyperlocaliczing our efforts, really targeting communities, condo associations, and different particular groups where interests of the majority, particularly the target market that we have are present in these online communities,” Billones said.

“We also do simplifications. We’re not just doing hyperlocalization, we also simplify the messaging, and the narrative of MyKuya, so it becomes more relatable to as many people as possible. We curate stories, particularly highlighting the activities that our partners do, and the kind of value that our customers actually find with MyKuya services. So those are the kinds of narratives that we actually highlight on our Facebook messaging, and we’re still trying to reach out more and more communities, in preparation for our expansion activities as well,” he added.

Presently, MyKuya has established online presence on the major social media channels of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. On Facebook, they present real-life testimonials of individuals who have already worked as partners for the app, integrating the promotional hashtag #MyKuyaMyHero. 

“How do our Kuya and Ate exemplify heroship during the pandemic? Each Kuya, a different story! Read on the inspirational stories of our partners in this time of lockdown and ECQ, and find out how they are able to help many people!” said one of the posts, followed by quote cards of partners, bearing their images and testimonies. (Translated in English)

In terms of the app’s users, the super-service app has also responded to the hard times that the pandemic has thrusted many into, and has made service rates more wallet-friendly amid users’ tightened budgets.

One thing that it has already done is to reduce the rates for their Pick-up & Drop service, lowering it from P150 per hour to P99 per hour within the MECQ period. 

Reduced rates will also be seen on the app’s services for their enterprise owner users such as BizHelper and MotoToday services. BizHelper is help in tasks like packing, sorting, and organizing, while MotoToday is for those that require motorcycle delivery or pick-ups. Under the MECQ, the lower minimum number of hours to avail of these services has been reduced from 6 hours to 4. 

Enterprise owners are one of the main stakeholders of the app. As of today, it has over 100 SME users. 

When we asked about their approach to business development, just like how they reach out to potential partners, MyKuya’s Country Head Dennis Bunye said that they go for a personalized approach, even implementing an SME club.

“We reach out enterprise partners in terms of in-person, face to face conversations, and we also get referrals in terms of how we can gain access to certain communities, which we hope to serve as well in order to be able to provide more value to them,” said Bunye.

“We are also having this what we call SME club, wherein we will make use of the spirit of community and provide value through not only giving advice and not just being salesy about it, but really sharing what we learned as we get to understand further the requirements of our SMEs right now,” he added.

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia-based integrated cloud platform Enginemailer, which focuses on email marketing services has been appointed by government-owned Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to support its efforts in digitizing SMEs.

The support will mainly be given via the company’s flagship service, email marketing.

MDEC was established by the Malaysian government to propel Malaysia’s digital economy, which it refers to as the ecosystem of public and private sectors who produce, adopt and innovate digital technologies in the name of socio-economic productivity.

Enginemailer offers database management, email marketing, and transactional email services. It has unified features which deliver customer engagement across the entire email marketing and automation spectrum; combining drag-and-drop interfaces, advanced data analytics, and a complete set of integrations APIs.  

Companies who will engage in Enginemailer’s services will be provided with tools to bring their brand messaging into customers’ inboxes through efficient email campaigns.

“Enginemailer is proud to be appointed as an approved  TSP specializing in end-to-end email marketing service for SMEs looking to reach their target audience more effectively,” said CEO and founder Jeffri Shahul Hamid. 

Malaysia announced during its Budget 2020 that its Digitalization Grant will allow SMEs to apply for a 50% matching grant, or a cap of RM 5,000 to adopt any three of the five key digitalization areas delivered by approved Technology Service Providers (TSP). 

Jeffri cites Statista study that global email users in 2019 are estimated to reach 4.3 billion by 2023, a 400 million increase from 2019.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Adqlo, a Malaysia-based tech company, has released a report analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysia’s retail industry.

Titled “Life After Covid-19—How The Retail Industry Is Forever Changed”, the report analysed 8 retail sectors, 8,220 profiles, and 339,930 postings from social media and e-commerce platforms in Malaysia over a span of 105 days from 1 January to 14 April 2020 to see how the industry has been impacted by the pandemic and the government-decreed Movement Control Order (MCO), as well as the digital transformation or lack thereof that has subsequently taken place.

The report offers unique insights into the Malaysian market, highlighting the impact of the MCO on consumer behaviours and habits; effects on different segments of the retail industry and how the industry players have reacted; as well as changes in the social influencers landscape.

Ginz Ooi, Founder and CEO of Adqlo, said,

“When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Malaysia, many businesses are heavily affected, especially those in the retail and SMEs segment. Businesses are turning to digital in an attempt to stay afloat but have no clue how to navigate the digital landscape.”

“This is where Adqlo steps in to help these businesses using data and social media.”, he added.

As consumers spend more time online in the wake of the MCO, brands have the opportunity to gain greater reach through a sound digital strategy covering multiple digital touchpoints.

“We hope this report will be able to help businesses make informed decisions in their journey of digital transformation and get ahead of the curve,” said Ginz Ooi, Founder and CEO, Adqlo.

Adqlo’s Life After Covid-19—How The Retail Industry Is Forever Changed report is now available to download for free.