The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeking to double — or raise to 50 percent — the contribution of e-commerce to the country’s economy by 2022.
DTI secretary Ramon Lopez said countries in the Asean region are already doing payments and small transactions via their mobile phones. “They are our neighboring countries. In other words, jumping into the system is just around the corner. All it takes is everyone to download an app or switch to digital transactions,” he said in a press briefing Tuesday, Aug. 6, on the sidelines of dialogue on E-Commerce Philippine Roadmap 2022.
Lopez also sees 100,000 MSMEs engaging in e-commerce in the next three years, noting that over 30,000 sari-sari stores in the barangay level have capabilities for e-wallet loading and transferring of funds.
“We can be more optimistic on the target. The technology is already there, the penetration of mobile phones is there, Internet penetration, and Facebook,” he added.
DTI undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba noted the services sector currently contributes half to the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP), the bulk of which is shared by wholesale and retail.
Aldaba said the figure does not include Grab transport, GrabFood, tickets booked online, and hospitality businesses listed in Airbnb, among others.
Prof. Ronilo Balbieran, who has been tapped to assist the E-Commerce Office of the DTI to produce the roadmap, said the e-commerce is expected to grow a minimum 25 to 30 percent per year.
“We are very excited given that technology can always multiply output by a factor of between five to 10 times with the same resources,” he added.
In 2016, the DTI launched the E-Commerce Roadmap 2016-2020, a five-year initiative to spur E-commerce growth in the country. — Leslie Gatpolintan (PNA)
