Philstar.com
December 4, 2024 | 4:05pm
MANILA, Philippines — In pursuing digital financial inclusion, the Philippines’ leading finance app and largest cashless ecosystem GCash recognizes the transformative impact of collaboration across various sectors in society.
As an instrumental force in the country’s financial inclusion efforts, GCash has been working with the government, communities and businesses in advancing its vision of Finance For All.
As many of the previously unbanked and underbanked gain access to formal financial services (rising from 29% pre-pandemic to 65% in 2022), GCash continues to promote digital financial inclusion to more sectors.
Among them include micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMES), wet markets vendors, sari-sari store owners, tricycle drivers, farmers and fisherfolk who can transact digitally, through strong partnerships with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and local government units.
Accelerating financial inclusion through DigiCities
One of the ways GCash has accelerated progress in its push towards financial inclusion is through DigiCities, a collaborative effort of public and private sectors in building a complete digital ecosystem in local government units.
Launched this year, DigiCities has been adopted in 27 key cities across the Philippines.
Some initiatives under DigiCities include:
- GCash for Business Hubs where business owners can get easy access to tools that maximize their business potential
- Masterclass sessions for MSMEs where they get to learn relevant skills for growth such as Canva, TikTok Shop, StartUp Village and the United States Agency for International Development
- GCash Pera Talks where local communities learn about basic financial literacy
- GCash Pera Outlet Kapihan Session where successful and thriving sari-sari store owners provide mentorship to other entrepreneurs, inspiring and empowering them
Among the cities that were onboarded with the DigiCities program include Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Pasig, Caloocan, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Antipolo, Baguio, San Fernando (Pampanga), Bacoor, Sta. Rosa, Dasmariñas, Lipa, Imus, Cabanatuan, Cebu Tri-city (Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City) Iloilo, Bacolod, Tagbilaran, Victorias, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Kidapawan and General Santos City.
GCash helps members of underserved sectors like local farmers to be ready for emergencies by giving them easy access to fair and non-collateralized loans.
Of the 27 cities, three are set to be recognized at the GCash Digital Excellence Awards (GDEA), as well as five businesses that participated in the DigiCities program.
Celebrating progressive cities through GDEA
The GCash Digital Excellence Awards (GDEA) celebrates the successes of various local government units, national government agencies and MSMEs in their digital transformation journey, motivating the public and private sectors to continue innovating for a more inclusive financial society.
Held annually since 2020, this year’s GDEA is set to honor 31 awardees and seven partner organizations, under accolades such as the Digital Breakthrough Growth Award, Excellence in Digital Transformation Award, Palengke Excellence in Digital Transformation Award, among others.
This year’s awards program shines a spotlight on the exceptional government agencies, LGUs and MSMEs that actively participated in the DigiCities program, as a testament to what digital transformation can do to grow small businesses, transform financial transactions in the government and educate communities on the importance of financial literacy.
GCash empowers MSMEs like wet market vendors by providing them with digital financial tools that enable them to earn more, grow their business and leverage opportunities to make money work for them.
“The Philippines continues to make so much progress in terms of digital financial inclusion—and the efforts of our GDEA awardees are paving the way for even more sustainable growth,” said Lhen Pavia, head of Public Sector and Regional Development for GCash. “We are proud of what they represent: the future of digital financial inclusion in the country.”
“As witnessed in GDEA, we know this is not a lone effort but a collaboration among government, communities and businesses. We hope that one day, every community, town, city and region in the Philippines is digitally equipped and thriving under the banner of financial inclusion,” added Pavia.
Editor’s Note: This press release is sponsored by GCash. It is published by the Advertising Content Team that is independent from our Editorial Newsroom.
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