The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) MIMAROPA Regional Office launched its “MIMAROPA Digitally” Program to onboard all types of businesses via digital platforms.

MIMAROPA Digitally is a sub-brand of the region’s MIMAROPA Naturally campaign that aims to create a digital ecosystem within the destination of choice through inclusive technology for productivity and efficiency. 

This effort is in line with one of DTI Chief Alfredo E. Pascual’s 10 Priority Strategies on upgrading, upskilling, and upsizing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

For 2022, DTI has partnered with GCash (Mynt), a household name for convenient electronic transactions, to pilot an e-Commerce Roadshow in the region. The activity is designed to promote digital solutions in rural communities through established and safe digital payment gateways. The onboarding process is complemented by a financial literacy session to equip the participants with the right skill set for making financial decisions.

Participants wait for their free printed GCash QR Codes to complete the onboarding process during the e-Commerce Roadshow leg in Gasan, Marinduque on July 13, 2022.

The first leg of the roadshow commenced in the municipality of Narra in Palawan on June 6-9, 2022. DTI MIMAROPA and GCash enabled 152 Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) members and market vendors, and 40 sari-sari store owners.

Following the success of the pilot leg, the e-Commerce Roadshow team visited all six municipalities in Marinduque from July 13-15, 2022 to onboard 265 TODA members and market vendors, 162 sari-sari store owners, and 239 MSMEs. 

Mario Logmao, TODA driver from Mogpog, Marinduque who lost his lower left leg due to an unfortunate event said, “Nagpapasalamat po kami sa DTI, sapagkat kahit mahal po ang gas at ibang kagamitan sa motor, at may nag-aaral pa po akong anak na nasa college, dagdag kita po ito para maitawid ang araw-araw.”

DTI MIMAROPA resonates with GCash’s advocacy of creating a financially inclusive environment for all businesses. 

Joel B. Valera, Regional Director of DTI MIMAROPA said, “We are entering a new frontier in the new normal, and we are head-on in building a robust digital ecosystem in MIMAROPA that is inclusive and madali. We are happy to be one of the pioneers of this kind of initiative in DTI. We design our activities in such a way that we go beyond providing them inputs, and actually helping our clients execute the concepts in their daily business operations.”

The next leg of the roadshow is scheduled on September 12-16, 2022, in Oriental Mindoro.