Government and industry players in the Philippines and Singapore recently convened in a virtual event to highlight the current situation of the Philippine Sandbox, in line with the Digital Pilipinas campaign that aims to foster changes in both local and global spheres through technological innovation.
The movement will introduce a method on how to leverage ICT-driven opportunities and will provide a list of agendas where solutions for the Philippine industry and economic system will be based on.
During the World FinTech Festival event’s fireside chats, the concepts revolved around financial technology, government technology, regulatory technology, property technology, digital transformation, overseas Filipino banking, the future of mobility, insurance technology, e-commerce, cybersecurity, internet of energy, the future of education, digital cities, and gaming.
During her welcome remarks, GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications, Inc. co-founder Amor Maclang reminded attendees that innovations are being spearheaded in the sandbox of Asia, and to maintain a competitive edge, Filipinos will need to do more than just raise the country’s innovation quotient.
“Is the Philippines ready for the world to come? Between the governments of Singapore and the Philippines, we are creating networks of roads to trade and trust. We need to demand a technology and innovation quotient from our future leaders.”
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez supported this sentiment and added that the goals of Digital Pilipinas in making the Philippines a future technological leader in the Southeast Asian region can only be accomplished through a “whole of society” approach. Some of the country’s advantages that Lopez noted include rampant e-commerce adoption, the prevalence of social media and internet usage, and the presence of a digitally-skilled workforce.
“Before the pandemic, the government has already been utilizing digitalization to push the ease of doing business. The adoption of e-commerce facilitated the digital transformation of business. The government remains committed to its role in enabling different stakeholders in our country to ensure our people benefits in e-commerce,” Lopez explained.
During the first segment of the fireside chat Maclang and FinTech Philippines trustee Ida Tiongson discussed how local tech companies are pushing boundaries through innovation along with Dragonpay president Robertson Chiang; Mynt chief customer officer Winsley Bangit; Insular Life First vice president and chief technology officer Gwendolyn Kelley and many more.
The subsequent segment was moderated by NFT63 co-founder and CEO Luis Buenaventura and revolved around concepts like cashless payments, cloud technology, online education, and e-commerce. He was joined by representatives hailing from local startups like Angkas, Kimstore, Locad, UnoBank, 8Ventures, and Xendit. Lasting for several months, the set of activities is scheduled to culminate on November 11-12, 2021.
