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Lazada CEO shares how MSMEs can thrive online

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Photo source: pressfoto on Freepik" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/advertorial/10/14/lady.jpg"/><figcaption>Photo source: pressfoto on <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/charming-ethnic-businesswoman-using-laptop_5633379.htm#query=business%20woman&amp;position=22&amp;from_view=search&amp;track=sph">Freepik</a></figcaption></figure></div>Starting a new business and growing it is not a simple walk in the park. And for entrepreneurs, eCommerce pioneer Lazada has been pivotal in scaling their businesses and achieving their dreams. CEO of Lazada Philippines Carlos Barrera shares how Filipino entrepreneurs may succeed and grow their businesses in the digital space with the tools and services available on the platform. He also mentions that aside from the tools that they can leverage, entrepreneurs should have clear priorities and commitments to succeed. &quot;I believe in both starting small while understanding that having big dreams and ambitious objectives is just as important as well,&quot; he adds.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="CEO of Lazada Philippines Carlos Barrera. Photo source: Lazada" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/advertorial/10/14/ceo.jpg"/><figcaption>CEO of Lazada Philippines Carlos Barrera. Photo source: Lazada</figcaption></figure></div><div>Lazada Empowering the Digital Ecosystem for Filipino MSMEs</div>Lazada welcomes both big and small businesses to partner with them as they grow their businesses on the platform. At present, sellers and brands have access to a wide array of resources that help better their online presence, and drive even more sales on their Lazada stores.Barrera shares that in their most recent thought leadership report, &quot;Transforming Southeast Asia: From Discovery to Delivery,&quot; they found that eCommerce platforms have overtaken search engines as the &quot;Discovery Channel of Choice&quot;, which means that customers are more likely to discover product options directly from these platforms that put partner brands and sellers in a uniquely strong position. &quot;We encourage our brands and sellers to embrace the new state of eCommerce and leverage the innovative tools that the platform has to offer in order to elevate the online shopping experience for customers. Lazada provides state of the art marketing tools and solutions to help brands and sellers to optimize their operations and bring in more sales,&quot; says Barrera.Their platform also offers educational learning materials for sellers through Lazada University to help ensure that partner brands and sellers are up to date on the latest eCommerce trends as well as providing them with the necessary skills to run an effective online business. <div>Tapping Into Personal Passions For Growth</div>Barrera shares that passion is very important to become successful, and how this pushed Isaac Saliendra, the owner of one of Lazada&#x27;s biggest eyewear stores to create his business. Barrera explains that Saliendra&#x27;s passion to run his own business was ignited by his father, who sold watches and eyewear to support their family. Saliendra then started his own brand, Peculiar, which sold bags and watches before eventually switching to selling eyewear products right after graduating in 2015. To date, Peculiar has now been on Lazada for seven years and has won numerous accolades, and grown into a successful business with more than 100 employees. The tools and online courses that Lazada provided, including the ones related to brand building and financial and inventory management for new sellers, were instrumental in helping Peculiar gain traction and allowed Saliendra to build up enough confidence to quit his day job and focus on running his online store full time.Successful people do not just have interests; they have passions, and they commit themselves to their goals. Barrera explains that the most successful people genuinely enjoy what they do and that they maintain good habits to get great results. &quot;Aside from being passionate about what I do, the key is to also stay active and intellectually curious as everything is constantly evolving,&quot; he says. During his free time outside of work he enjoys reading, playing tennis, and traveling. &quot;I am very happy to work in a company that gives me the flexibility to travel. I am glad that work trips are back! I travel every month and enjoy the cultural diversity of the region. I believe that being able to travel always gives a fresh perspective and helps me identify new trends that we can then try.&quot; After initially being based in Lazada Malaysia, Barrera eventually moved to the Philippines taking on different roles—working in sales, online marketing, then managing the retail business and traffic teams. He spent four years as COO running the commercial and platform operations focusing on helping sellers drive sales, growing the number of local sellers by more than 50x, driving different categories, as well as building the platform tools and solutions to further the growth and continue innovation in the eCommerce industry. He also recently got married in the Philippines, which was a major factor in his decision to stay in the country.Aside from traveling he is quite interested in crypto and startup communities as well. He gets excited looking at startups and feeling their energy. This is because he believes in building relationships and taking a long approach. &quot;You have to grow with your network and build credibility. You also need to know which ones to value because these are going to pay off long-term.&quot;<div>Paving the Way for MSMEs to Flourish</div>Lazada is committed to enabling entrepreneurs in their online selling journey, and in growing the eCommerce ecosystem—something that Carlos believes in strongly as well. The company has been supporting initiatives such as For The Women (FTW) foundation that trains women and helps them become data scientists and developers. The eCommerce platform tries its best to be fast movers as it partners up with companies. He believes that digitizing businesses remains a key lifeline for many businesses across the Philippines, and the region to help improve resiliency. Lazada aims to not only help sellers and brands have a platform for their business, but they are also keen on serving the customers as well by continuously improving the app for better user experience and providing a wide range of payment solutions to help ease the purchasing experience of customers, providing them with LazPayLater which is the Buy Now, Pay Later program of the company.To further deliver an interactive and innovative online shopping experience, the platform introduced LazLive+, a new curated interactive live content series that features trusted experts to share tips and skills with shoppers, as well as AI and AR-powered Virtual Try-On which beauty lovers can leverage to instantly sample products with pictures or live videos of themselves before making a purchase via the LazMall flagship stores of Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder, and M.A.C. In addition, the platform has also launched LazLook for trendy fashion finds and LazBeauty where beauty shoppers can purchase trending beauty brands and favorites. They are constantly refining their innovations for an enhanced shopping experience where customers can easily discover trends and products, access authentic product reviews, interactive livestreams and chat functions where buyers can directly ask questions to sellers. With Lazada&#x27;s capabilities in tech, data, and logistics, alongside our partners&#x27; strengths in product assortment, marketing, and customer engagement, we are able to drive customer loyalty which in turn help our brands and sellers achieve long-term success within Lazada&#x27;s ecosystem. &quot;Ultimately, we are committed to building a long-term sustainable ecosystem in Southeast Asia that supports communities and livelihoods, creates business opportunities for brands and sellers, and nurtures local talents within Lazada. All of our know-how and technology come from our most precious asset, our Lazadians. We remain committed, as always, to attracting and investing in talent,&quot; shares Barrera.Do not miss Lazada&#x27;s 10.10 Budol Festival and enjoy fast and free shipping when you shop for products from October 10-14, 2022.For interested merchants, visit the <a href="https://www.lazada.com.ph/wow/i/ph/PHCampaign/ssu?hybrid=1">Seller Center</a> for more information.

Here is how Lazada helps business owners unlock their growth potential and bring their businesses to the next level.