E-commerce, internationalization for WoMSMEs pushed

The government should raise awareness of and strengthen programs that promote e-commerce adoption and internationalization among women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (WoMSMEs), according to a report released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

The PIDS policy note, Empowering Women-led MSMEs to Engage in Cross-border E-commerce Trade through RCEP, highlighted the rise of e-commerce among WoMSMEs during the coronavirus pandemic and its positive impacts to WoMSMEs’ performance in terms of sales growth, customer base, customer satisfaction and process enhancement.

However, the report noted a low level of awareness among WoMSME entrepreneurs on cross-border trade and government programs that support access to the global digital economy.

“WoMSMEs tend to benefit substantially from e-commerce and cross-border trade. However, certain constraints – inherent to MSMEs and women – continue to hinder them from capitalizing on their gains,” the report said.

“Therefore, the implications for trade policy with specific regard to women and e-commerce are important given the growing share of female entrepreneurs in the MSME sector in the Philippines and the crucial role they play in the Philippines’ efforts to recover from the crisis through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Agreement (RCEP),” it added.

The report proposes that there should be gender-disaggregated data on cross-border e-commerce participation to help identify challenges and barriers to e-commerce adoption and possible policy interventions.

“Lastly, the Philippines should consider investing in further research and conducting a national survey on WoMSMEs’ e-commerce adoption and propensity to engage in cross-border e-commerce, which could help in the formulation of national development plans,” PIDS said.