by Gina T. Yap| Market Innovation Division | DTI-EMB

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed drastically the way consumers and enterprises do business. Due to lockdowns and the closing down of borders, micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) exporters were greatly hit generally in terms of loss of sales. As a response to this, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) is implementing programs that will help the MSME exporters get back on track and adapt to the new normal of doing business.

In August, the EMB partnered with eCFulfill to onboard MSME exporters in various global eCommerce platforms. eCFulfill is a Philippine tech startup that provides access to global marketspaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy in the US. It also integrates e-Commerce marketplace, warehouse logistics, order fulfillment, digital marketing, and digital payment methods in one platform that would make exporting easier for MSMEs.

To date, there are over 150 Filipino brands with 900+ stock-keeping units (SKUs) listed on the platform and have been successfully enlisting more companies to join the platform. Most listed products include food (62%), health and wellness (34%), home accessories (28%), and the rest represents clothing, garments, among others. Aside from helping MSME exporters take advantage of the online platform, DTI-EMB is also targeting to have their products sold to the physical stores in the US.

Based on the analytics provided by eCFulfill, Philippine products like turmeric tea, caramel-coated mangoes, and “Lechon wooden tray” are presently the top sellers and continuously gaining popularity with the US consumers.  

For this partnership, DTI-EMB is aiming to have 100 MSME companies listed by the end of December 2020. Interested MSME exporters can email the DTI-EMB Market Innovation Division at mid@dti.gov.ph for more information. ♦

Date of Release: 30 October 2020