PLDT Enterprise hosts SME Day Manila to discuss digital transformation for MSMEs

PLDT Enterprise, the business-to-business arm of PLDT, recently gathered industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives at the SME Day Manila forum. The event focused on providing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with strategies to adapt to a digital-first economic landscape.

John Eric S. Alviz, vice-president and head of Digital and Trade Marketing at PLDT Enterprise, highlighted the sector’s macroeconomic importance during his opening remarks, noting that small and medium enterprises account for approximately 98% of all registered businesses in the Philippines.

“At PLDT, we believe that helping businesses grow is one of the most important ways we can contribute to nation-building,” Mr. Alviz said. He also referenced PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan’s perspective on entrepreneurship: “Our Chairman has always believed that while there are small businesses, there are no small businessmen. When you create jobs, whether it’s one job or a thousand, it is big work. We’re all the same — colleagues in business who want to help build this nation.”

The forum featured learning sessions conducted by technical and market experts from PLDT Enterprise, ePLDT, Vitro, and TikTok. The presentations covered commercial wireless solutions, fixed broadband deployment for business continuity, enterprise cybersecurity, data center options, and digital marketing strategies to unlock growth via online platforms.

To provide a practical case study, Anna Isabelle Magalona-Go, founder of But First, Coffee, detailed her company’s transition from a home-based, online-only operation launched during the pandemic to a commercial franchise network. Ms. Magalona-Go emphasized that digital connectivity and cross-industry partnerships were fundamental to scaling her brand.

“Connectivity played a big role in enabling us to launch our business online, as well as respond to our customers online,” Ms. Magalona-Go shared. “No business grows alone, because behind every growing company are partners who help make growth possible.”

The afternoon concluded with an open Q&A session featuring speakers from the various technical panels. Blums Pineda, senior vice-president and head of PLDT Enterprise, noted that the division aims to provide digital tools and infrastructure to help local businesses manage current market pressures, including inflation and shifting economic conditions.

Following its initial legs in Pampanga and Metro Manila, PLDT Enterprise plans to roll out the SME Day regional forum series to Davao and Iloilo in the coming months.

---

SparkUp is BusinessWorld’s multimedia brand created to inform, inspire, and empower the Philippine startups; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and future business leaders. This section will be published every other Monday. For pitches and releases about startups, e-mail to [e-mail] (cc: [e-mail]). Materials sent become BW property.