MANILA brings to the global stage its push for more accessible digital tools and lower costs to uplift micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across ASEAN.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Geneva, under the Philippine Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), took center stage at the WTO Public Forum 2025 on September 17 and 18, 2025 as it championed the Philippines’ leadership in driving digital transformation and inclusive growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across ASEAN.
Manuel Teehankee, the Philippines’ Permanent Representative to the WTO, emphasized MSMEs’ ‘central role’ in ASEAN’s economic resilience and global competitiveness.
‘MSMEs form the backbone of our economies but challenges remain’, Teehankee said.
As such, he told the WTO Forum: ‘We must enable them to access digital tools, lower costs, and expand cross-border opportunities to thrive in the global marketplace.’
As a co-organizer of the high-level session ‘Beyond Borders: ASEAN’s Bold Paths to MSME Digitalization,’ The DTI’s trade and investment office in Geneva positioned the Philippines as a ‘proactive regional advocate for innovation, interoperability, and digital inclusion.’
DTI said the session, which was held on the sidelines of the WTO’s largest annual gathering of policymakers, industry leaders, and global stakeholders, was jointly organized with GCash.
A panel discussion which included Rowena Zamora, Chief Strategy Officer of Mynt (the operator of GCash), explored ‘strategies’ to accelerate MSME adoption of digital solutions and strengthen cross-border interoperability, highlighting initiatives such as Project Nexus, a collaboration among the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to link instant payment systems across borders.
Meanwhile, Teehankee also affirmed the Philippines’ commitment to accelerating MSME digitalization and its active role in advancing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA)-a landmark initiative to be concluded ahead of the Philippines’ Asean Chairship in 2026.
According to a blog post of World Economic Forum (WEF) in May 2025, the Asean DEFA is the world’s first region-wide digital economy agreement.
‘ASEAN has taken a firm decision. In a world increasingly defined by digital transformation, it is stepping forward deliberately, ambitiously and in a united fashion,’ WEF noted.
According to WEF, the ASEAN DEFA, currently under negotiation, represents a ‘pivotal moment’ for the region.
‘More than an economic pact, DEFA is a strategic blueprint for how our nearly 680 million people can access a digital future that is open, secure and inclusive,’ it also noted.