Inaugural Philippine FinTech Festival emphasizes the need for international cooperation
Digital Pilipinas presents the Philippines as a "soft haven" for international entrepreneurs, with the ASEAN digital economy expected to reach a value of $1 trillion by 2030. InsureTech, Web 3.0, AI, and Big Data, among other advancements, will be made more widely available to the general population, according to plans given by foreign and Filipino executives at the recent Digital Pilipinas Festival (DPS).
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| Digital Pilipinas officially opened the Philippine FinTech Festival and World FinTech Festival-Philippines gathering local and foreign industry and tech leaders for week-long festivities, discussions and workshops. The PFF-WFF-Ph kicks off a month-long celebration of ASEAN FinTech while launching an anti-fragile technology and innovation ecosystem to bring about an economically stronger region. |
The greatest private sector initiative for constructing a technology and innovation ecosystem, Digital Pilipinas aims to accelerate technological development in the nation and develop an anti-fragile system in its societal structures and industries. In collaboration with Elevandi, a company established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to promote public-private sector dialogue and advance FinTech in the digital economy, it held the Digital Pilipinas Festival, which was made up of the World FinTech Festival-Philippines and the Philippine FinTech Festival.
The conference organizers "who share ASEAN's vision of creativity and unity developed from a desire for mutual growth," according to Amor Maclang of Digital Pilipinas and World Fintech Festival-Philippines, were recognized.
With Digital Pilipinas serving as a platform for global technological cooperation, she also promoted the Philippines as "a welcoming gateway to ASEAN for other countries who wish to do business in our region, for innovators from other countries who, in the face of unfavorable political or economic conditions, need to temporarily relocate to where their culture of innovation will be preserved."
The benefits of ASEAN technology cooperation
Without such a global ecosystem, Manish Bhai, the founder, president, and CEO of UNO Digital Bank, stated that "we will not be successful with digitization. We want everyone to work together, that is what we are attempting. It must be international, regional, ASEAN, and global.
The first benefit of an ASEAN tech partnership would be a beneficial effect on trade. Jimmy Kyle Siy, Director of Customer Success at Brankas, stated that "the more frictionless transactions are across ASEAN countries, the more trade between its member countries are promoted. Technology also makes it possible for a wider demography of potential trading partners. In order to enable inexpensive fund transfers, Singapore and Indonesia have connected their respective quick payment systems (PayNow and UPI). To ensure that we properly adhere to each government's unique monetary policies, we must cooperate with them.
Working with ASEAN includes, according to Angkas CEO George Royeca, "engagement with authorities striving to build the greatest products that will have the highest positive effect. Better insurance plans and costs are possible.
KPMG's chief operating officer and vice chair, Noel Bonoan, stated that the company is focusing on "e-governance to deliver good services for a younger constituency and to essentially make their cities more habitable."
Universal digital transformation
An ecosystem is being built to "offer digital services for cooperatives and their members, widely progressing mostly for the grassroots," according to Ann Cuisia, CEO and President of digiCOOP Technology Service Cooperative.
The CEO of the country's most well-known cryptocurrency company, Coins.ph, Wei Zhou, discussed his aspirations to turn the Philippines into "a leader in Web 3.0, not just in ASEAN, but globally. Blockchain technology and digital assets are financial equalizers. It's a great place to begin.
In another interview, Rico Bautista, President and CEO of Etiqa Philippines, discussed the importance of the DPF to firms looking to move to the digital market: "We want to hear opinions and best practices so that we can be more deliberate in tech-ing up the industry." We intend to leverage technology to reach out to a larger portion of our target customers in the life and non-life sectors. In the age of Web 3.0, Open Finance, and soon-to-come Open Insurance, we must be aware of the trends that can assist us in capturing the target audiences we have identified."
April Tan, COLFinancial's Head of Corporate Strategy, discussed how their online trading platform can connect ASEAN countries: "Investors can engage in the various ASEAN countries by buying shares," she said, adding that access to financial resources can lead to wealth growth.
Union Bank of the Philippines will operate in a cooperative spirit throughout ASEAN. Erika Dizon-Go, Senior Vice President of the bank. Head of the Fintech Business Group. "Through cooperation with other FinTech companies, we ensure that new financial goods offshore can be brought here," said the Head of the Open Finance and Digital Services Center of Excellence.
Following this, Michael Calma, Advance.Philippines AI's Country Manager, stated that economic growth can occur through "localizing AI and Big Data down to the masses, making consumer protection, financial services, and e-customer services more accessible to them."
Jobbagy László, Managing Director of Digital Success Nonprofit Ltd., underlined that digital transformation is a precondition for growth since "digitalization is all around us." Everyone must know IT, and IT experts must know everything. We can have all kinds of people with all kinds of degrees helping digitize culture, including policymaking, over the next 30 years."
Participating in the DPF were co-presentor Coins.ph and co-convenors Etiqa Philippines; Angkas; PayMongo, UnionBank of the Philippines; digiCOOP; ADVANCE.AI; NinjaVan Philippines; KPMG Philippines; UNO Digital Bank; Creador; Globe; PruLife UK; Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra; Brankas; GCash; COL Financial; Xendit Philippines; and Tech Exactly. Other partners were StartUp Village; BounceBack PH; and Fintech Philippines Association; FinScore; Mapúa University; GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications; Philippine Daily Inquirer; Philippine Star; Manila Bulletin; United Neon; Coinvestasi; and CoinGeek.