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Digital Pilipinas and KPMG R.G. Manabat Co. White Papers for 12 Critical Industries

Co-Authored by AcubeLaw and DOST-Mapua Think and Tinker Laboratory

ESG and Green Finance

Streamlining ESG Policies and Practices for SMEs through an ESG Platform for All

Problem Statement

How do we enable SMEs to choose suppliers that are wholly ESG compliant, therefore making their entire supply chain ESG compliant?

Summary

The most pressing pain point facing ESG and sustainability today can be traced back to a lack of awareness or understanding of how accountability and responsibility for corporate good governance, environment, and social sustainability plays in different levels of society. While larger, publicly-listed corporations may be aware of what they need to do; unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many SMEs. It is the responsibility of key industry leaders and regulatory bodies to lead the necessary education and awareness initiatives. They must do all that they can to urgently spur awareness and provoke action, even incrementally: whether it’s through creating a platform listing ESG-compliant suppliers, pooling together educational resources on ESG, or engaging regulators.

Logistics and Supply Chain

Mobilizing a Seamless Supply Chain: Implementing an Omnichannel Strategy for Cost-Efficient Mobility and Logistics

Problem Statement

An increasing demand for mobility and logistics services in the Philippines resulted in new challenges in delivering goods in a fast, cost-efficient way despite the cross-transportation channels needed in the archipelago.

How do we create an omnichannel solution that helps digitalize processes in the international and domestic legs of the supply chain and alleviates bottlenecks?

Summary

Educating retailers on the benefits of shifting to omnichannel should spur them toward seamless integration of everything from inventory management to order fulfillment. It is important to look at how access to real-time information and data improves decisions from international logistics down to last-mile delivery. While the shift will not happen overnight, benefits such as lowered costs, efficient delivery, and increased customer satisfaction should make the effort worthwhile.

Mobility and Transport

Creating Interoperable Systems for a Truly Mobile Philippines

Problem Statement

The lack of interoperability and intermodality in the nation’s public transport is a glaring cause of inefficiency. How do we create a transport platform that is truly intermodal and interoperable?

Summary

Overall, many of the pain points facing the mobility and transport sector are not novel, identifiable, and solvable. Problems such as traffic volume, congestion, and faulty infrastructure have been around for centuries, with the scale of the problem being the main difference. Yet what is also different is the new technology available to solve these problems. Used correctly, the new technology and tools at the disposal of people, government, and entrepreneurs could be the key to ushering in a new era for how we get around and how we uplift communities.

Energy

Altering the Energy Consumption Habits of Consumers with Greater Information Accessibility

Problem Statement

How can we make Filipino consumers more involved in their energy payments and where energy is coming from?

Summary

As the climate crisis intensifies, the need to reshape and improve the Philippine energy sector gets more urgent each day. Not only is energy demand growing and traditional resources like coal dwindling, but the cost of transitioning to better renewable energy sources will only go up from here. Introducing substantial changes into the nation’s energy sector will not just happen overnight. Yet there is no denying that this shift will be so much easier once Filipino consumers understand their role in the push towards better energy use—and are given the proper information and tools to take action. The long road towards cleaner, more efficient energy use for all begins with this single step.

Insuretech

Teching Up the Local Insurance Industry: Empowering Local Insurance Players and Agents to Leverage on the Rise of Insuretech

Problem Statement

Insuretech exists today to help insurance companies and agencies work more efficiently and enable insurance companies to offer better products/services.

How can we encourage more local insuretech players to support the insurance industry with the end goal of creating more accessible and customizable products and services in third-party platforms and marketplaces at a faster pace?

Summary

There exists a demand for more local insuretech players in the Philippines, and for established insuretech companies to likewise adopt insuretech in their processes before and after the whole life cycle of any insurance policy. Adopting insuretech is a challenging process that will involve the cooperation and hard work of everyone, from individual insurance agents all the way to industry regulators. The benefits of making insurance more affordable, accessible, and inclusive make the process certainly worth the effort.

Fintech

Helping Consumers Transition Into the New Era of Data Ownership

Problem Statement

How do we tokenize our identity and extend access to financial services?

Summary

In essence, the goal of new rules and regulations in data ownership should be to guarantee anyone—whether it is a small sari-sari business or a previously unbanked adult—has equal access to quality financial services. Although the work will be tough, the result will be a world with a truly financially inclusive landscape where everyone can fulfill their true economic potential. In the end, these efforts will benefit the greater community and result in a more financially inclusive society.

Smart Cities and Proptech

Paving the Road to Smart Cities by Incentivizing Digitalization at the LGU Level

Problem Statement

How can we create a platform enabling LGUs to raise more funds/investments and efficiently collect payments online?

Summary

Smart cities may seem to entail futuristic, science-fiction technology but the truth is these technologies are real and accessible - ready to resolve many of today’s urban development and property management pain points. Used correctly, smart city tech can improve the quality of life and access to resources and basic services, encourage greater investments, and boost the economic competitiveness of a city.

Agritech

Innovating Technology Solutions to Enable Market and Credit Access in Agriculture

Problem Statement

How can we leverage technology and modify regulations to give agricultural players easier access to the market and encourage business growth?

Summary

Pain points such as difficult farmer-to-market access and insufficient funding have always been present in the Philippine agriculture sector. Agritech presents a unique opportunity to mitigate and even eliminate these challenges. The key here is for stakeholders to ask themselves: how can we leverage technology and optimize government programs and regulations to give agricultural players easier access to the market and encourage business growth in the sector?

Edutech

Unleashing the Potential of Short Courses and Micro-Certifications for Employment and Economic Growth in the Philippines

Problem Statement

The Philippines faces high unemployment rates and there is a need for specialized, on-demand training to meet the demands of the modern economy. How can we digitalize and store credentials in wallets for potential employers to look at?

Summary

Now is the time for employers to start recognizing the legitimacy of short courses and micro-certifications as noteworthy accomplishments and credentials for hiring. After all, short courses and micro-certifications are more accessible to potential employees, flexible, lower in costs, and specific to a particular job or field. Stakeholders and policy influencers should also aim to grant initiatives to build the necessary infrastructure to store learners' and employees’ digital credentials, perhaps through the use of digital wallets.

Wealthtech

Capital Markets 2.0: Expanding Access to Wealth Management in the Philippines

Problem Statement

How can we further promote partnerships between local fintech players and brokerage firms, with the end goal of creating more products for wealth management?

Summary

Wealthtech has great potential to further financial inclusion, generate opportunities, and grow wealth for Filipinos. Towards achieving such potential, it is important for investors, entrepreneurs, regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to first understand the opportunities ahead of them and help optimize these through education initiatives, facilitating partnerships, and shaping regulations and policies.

Marktech

Ethical Marktech: Building Trust Between Brands and Consumers in the New Era of Data Ownership

Problem Statement

How do you leverage tech to foster even greater trust between brands and consumers?

Summary

Purchasing online, especially in the e-commerce space, ultimately requires consumers to share their data. From the moment they search for the items to the time they hit the purchase button, the amount of data acquired by these platforms are not only enormous but can be used to their advantage, without the consumer’s consent, to monitor online consumer behavior. There is a need to educate consumers on how to protect their rights to their data, not just within the e-commerce setting, but also across all transactions, may it be local or cross-border.

SME Digitalization and E-commerce

Enabling Filipino SMEs to Go Global: A Guide to Digital Readiness and Cross-Border Expansion

Problem Statement

How do we get Filipino SMEs digitally ready for cross-border business?

Summary

SMEs today operate in times of unprecedented opportunity. Aside from the rise of e-commerce, technologies such as blockchain can transform how business is done. Blockchain can empower SMEs to create communities, grow organic retention rates, and keep acquisition costs down.