APEC business leaders advocate Iloilo digital commerce initiative

Doris Magsaysay Ho, 2015 chair of the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac), noted that embracing ecommerce to accelerate the MSMEs’ access to international markets and integration in the global supply chains was one of the group’s priorities for 2015, businessinquirer.net reports.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to capture a 33.4% share of the global ecommerce sales by end 2015, according to research by eMarketer, the source cites. These upward regional and global ecommerce trends are good omens for MSMEs to expand their market base and leverage their sales toward sustained growth, Magsaysay Ho stated.

The Iloilo Action Initiative is expected to outline specific steps to facilitate ecommerce accession on behalf of the MSMEs. The initiatives are designed to enable small firms to access the regional and global markets. Citing a study conducted by Abac with the USC Marshall Schoolin 2015, Magsaysay Ho noted that the lack of readiness and capability of MSMEs to engage in ecommerce was a major stumbling block. Problems with awareness, technical ability, access to talent and financing all limit the growth potential of MSMEs, especially in developing economies, she said.

The internationalisation of MSMEs also required a solid vision for innovation that will allow the MSMEs to penetrate global markets and global value chains. MSMEs account for over 97% of all enterprises and employ over half of the workforce across APEC economies. MSMEs contribute significantly to economic growth, with their share of the GDP ranging from 20% to 50% among majority of the APEC economies. MSMEs, however, account for only 35% or less of the direct exports.