Technology: The key to the success of SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of Asian economy. They make up more than 98 percent of all Asian businesses. It has been observed by the World Bank that countries with deeper, more developed financial systems achieve higher economic growth and faster reductions in poverty and income equality. In order for a country’s economy to flourish, we must make sure that we set our SMEs up for success by providing them the right level of support. Currently, SMEs in the Philippines face a lot of challenges such as limited or slow access to Finance, lack of or underdeveloped information technology infrastructure, difficulty in cultivating proper sales channels, and low market reach.

Smartphone adoption has seen a significant rise in the last decade. With the easy access to the internet and the provided peace of mind of online technologies like Paypal, people have developed habits of online shopping over brick-and-mortar stores. However, SMEs have been unable to sufficiently utilize such opportunities. Most small enterprises do not have their own websites. Another issue that SMEs face is not being able to easily access or manage their finances online.