More than 18 months since Covid-19 sent shockwaves of unprecedented impacts on the Philippine economy, what progress has the country made to empower MSMEs’ sustainable recovery?
In 2020, the Global Compact Network Philippines, the local arm of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), decisively made a great pivot towards uniting business for MSMEs.
In partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as co-chair, GCNP co-convened business expert group discussions that led to the crafting of the 10-in-10 Ambition – a 10-year, 10-point business ambition for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Philippines.
In the decisive years leading up to 2030, the 10-in-10 Ambition envisages harnessing corporate leadership and forging meaningful multi-stakeholder engagements to make possible the future we all want and need – where People, Planet, Prosperity, and Partnerships exist in a balance, and where no one is left behind – including and especially the MSMEs.
The focus on MSMEs cannot be more on point. MSMEs hold a dominant share in the national and global economy. MSMEs currently make up 99.5% of operating businesses in the Philippines, employ up to 63% of the workforce, and contributed up to 40% to the country’s GDP in the past years.
While the GDP grew 11.8% year-on-year in the second quarter this year, marking the end of a pandemic-induced recession that lasted 15 months, this sector continues to face immense risks even as the country’s pandemic response is threatened by more virulent variants of the virus.
Within a year, experts cite that MSMEs are now better equipped with financial and technical resources to lead the country’s economic activity. However, much more needs to be done.
How can we unlock capital to support MSMEs recovery? How in turn must MSMEs anchor their operations on responsible business principles? How can corporate action be sustained to back the “backbone” of the economy, and thus, recalibrate economic development set on a more sustainable, climate resilient path?
On 17-18 November 2021, join GCNP and UNIDO at the Sustainability Summit 2021 From Ambition to Action: Accelerating MSMEs recovery through the 10-in-10 Agenda.
These two days will be packed with pragmatic and lively discussions as we converge the country’s thought leaders from corporate, policy and MSMEs sectors, to champion a decade of action.
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