Innovation, education needed to boost PH’s fintech sector
The Philippines needs to implement innovation among firms and startups, as well as fintech education among Filipinos to spur further growth in the financial technology (fintech) industry.
Speaking at an online forum, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Innovation and Collaboration Division Chief Karl Lyndon Pacolor said that fintech is one of the emerging sectors in the Philippines due to the growth in digital transactions during the pandemic.
Pacolor explained that the lockdowns led businesses, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and startup firms to see that fintech was the solution to the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Fintech players, the trade official noted, also boosted the startup ecosystem’s growth, as evidenced by the increase in the number of industry players since the pandemic began.
“We want to make the Philippine tech startup ecosystem, together with the fintech industry, an engine of economic recovery and be our main driver for inclusive growth and job creation…,” he stated.
Carlo Edmund Calimon, co-founder and president of StartUp Village, noted that digitization has largely helped MSMEs “elevate” their status during the challenging times of the pandemic.
“Because of the pandemic, everybody’s forced to adapt to the new normal and use technology on a day-to-day basis. A lot of startups have taken advantage of the situation,” Calimon added.
