MANILA — The acting secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, will focus on the digitalization of businesses, especially Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

According to Roque, digitalizing business processes is essential to reaching a wider market, particularly in product sales.

"No. 1 is digitalization and AI, we must go digital. We are 7,600 islands, and the only way for us to disseminate information, sell our products, and get our message across is through digitalization. So, we must go digital and use AI," Roque said at the DAPO News Forum in Quezon City.

Digitalization is part of the 5-point strategy that Roque plans to promote during her tenure.

This strategy also includes diversification or increasing product variety.

"We must diversify, as Warret Buffet said, we cannot rely on a single income, we must have a second source para pag bumagsak yung benta ng isa, we still have another one," she said.

"If you are selling one item like pandesal, you can also start selling ensaymada, cheese rolls, so you can earn income from pandesal, ensaymada, and cheese rolls. Using the same assets and direction, you can really grow your business by diversifying," the secretary explained.

Roque will also push for faster and easier access to funding for MSMEs to help entrepreneurs expand their businesses.

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Roque also encourages the public to try franchising.

"We must be open to the possibility of franchising , either i-franchise natin yung ibang brand na we can get the statistics from Philippine Franchising Corporation kung  ano yung top 10, yung halos walang talo na franchise," she said.

She said that many Overseas Filipino Workers could benefit from franchising if they can afford it.

"Kasi ang franchising, you just follow the manual, they tell you what to do. More or less, alam mo na kung magkano ang kikitain mo, alam mo na rin yung success rate nila, so chances are, kung kukuha ka ng information sa Philippine Franchising Corporation, they will give you who are on top, kung saan yung budget mo, kung saan yung kaya mo, doon ka kukuha ng franchise," Roque said.

She also emphasized the importance of mentoring and continuous learning for business owners.

"The fifth important thing is mentoring or learning but on a strategic and specific learning. Because some of the MSME (owners), they dont have the time to learn, wala na silang oras na mag-allot, let's say one year or everyday papasok sila, wala na silang ganun. Sometimes ang kailangan lang nila basic accounting, ang kailangan lang nila paano kaya palakihin ang business na ito, so we've started this learning in our office in DTI," Roque said.

Roque shared that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to her is to “uplift the income and be able to uplift the MSMEs.”

She said that digitization would help do that.

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“Kung ma-increase natin yung benta ng MSME even by 10%, ang laki ng contribution nito sa economy ng bansa and this is an instantaneous increase, so we just need to use the digital platforms, we need to use the strengths,” Roque said.

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