What do micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) lifelines and the trajectory that the Department of Finance (DOF) wants to take have in common? The guests of the third and final leg of Inquirer Project Rebound’s MSMEs webinar series unanimously agree that both are anchored in financial technology (fintech). For MSMEs, the steady increase of…
“Boy, was that a wake up call.” Teddy Monroy, country representative for United Nations Industrial Development Organization, said this during the Inquirer Project Rebound’s webinar on ensuring the resiliency and sustainability of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with their recovery. This was in reference to the COVID-19 crisis, which truly exposed how MSMEs, despite…
A versatile light commercial vehicle for different businesses As I leave our house to go to work, I’m greeted by the sari-sari store out front owned by our neighbor. At the corner of our street, I pass by the water refilling station that’s patronized by homeowners in and outside of our village. A few more…
SM Investments Corporation’s strong retail-led growth mirrors growing consumer spending despite lingering inflation risks. This growth in spending activity is sparking optimism in the overall economic outlook. Asian Development Bank, in a recent report, raised economic expectations, underpinned by rebounds in investment and household consumption. “Despite rising inflation, we are encouraged to see shoppers’ robust…
As the world comes to grips with rising fuel prices brought about the conflict in Ukraine and widespread inflation at a global scale, it’s still battling to recover lost momentum brought about by the COVID pandemic that saw all life virtually grind to a halt for two years. People slowly return to their normal lives,…
Digitalization and the use of technology has been integrated and ingrained in so many of our industries for decades, but nowhere has it been as swiftly and massively adapted as it has in the past two years amid the global health crisis. With public health and safety as an imperative, alongside the continuing necessity of…
A cashless society is one where cash is not the primary mode for financial transactions. Instead, transactions are settled electronically using credit or debit cards, mobile or online payment apps and even QR codes. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) considers cashless payments not only as an alternative to banking transactions, but also as a…
With its new agency model, Insular Life (InLife) expects to attract more young Filipinos to join its sales force and double the current 4,000-strong agents by year-end. In a press briefing last week, InLife president and chief executive Raoul Antonio Littaua said they target to hit 8,000 agents by growing organically instead of poaching, which…
Three years ago, no country, government or central bank could have predicted the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our way of life and livelihoods. Its impact was keenly felt by everyone, particularly the vulnerable sectors of society. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has also become a catalyst in bridging the divide between the unbanked…
One of the sectors greatly affected and influenced by the global COVID-19 crisis is without a doubt the financial industry. From the way we do transactions—shifting to virtual or digital processes and management because of the need to isolate and socially distance ourselves—down to the increased interest in digital assets like crypto, the pandemic has,…