The National Development Company, in partnership with food business incubator Mercato Centrale Group, unveiled the beta launch of the Philippine E-commerce Platform at the National MSME Summit 2023 at The Manila Hotel on July 18, 2023.
PEP is the first government omnichannel created to promote Filipino businesses and help them expand online. The platform prioritizes Filipino products and onboards businesses officially registered with the Department of Trade and Industry and other government agencies, adding another layer of consumer protection. It also gives buyers access to a wider range of locally-made products by tapping public sector initiatives such as Go Lokal.
The DTI-supported platform is owned by the NDC and connects thru DICT’s e-Gov super-app, the platform for all Philippine government services. Mercato Centrale Group donated the technology to NDC.
“We laud the NDC and the Mercato Centrale Group for launching the PEP. We are hopeful that the PEP will significantly expand the presence of Filipino companies and products online, allowing MSMEs to broaden their markets and grow their businesses,” said Joey Concepcion, founder of Go Negosyo and chairman of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council.
The platform is aligned with the President’s 8-point agenda, particularly bureaucratic efficiency, focusing on digitalization and modernization of all government processes and operations. This project also supports the Strategic Development Plan of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
The global E-commerce is forecasted to grow 8.9 percent to $$5.9 trillion in sales worldwide in 2023. The Covid-19 pandemic drove online retail growth rates to historic highs (+16.8% in 2021 year-on-year) and, almost all countries’ economies have reopened and consumers return to brick-and-mortar stores, online retail growth rates have understandably slowed – but are still expected to grow although at a slower rate.
E-commerce share of retail sales is still expected to increase to 23.3 percent by 2026.
In the Philippines, e-commerce growth is forecasted to rise 22.9 percent in 2023—already the 20th largest market for e-commerce globally and projected to hit at least $16 billion. Although the Philippines parallels a similar slowdown in online retail growth globally due to a reopening of brick-and-mortar stores in the country, it is still one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia, supported by high smartphone and internet penetration rates.
The continuous growth of e-commerce in the Philippines drove the government to support the launch of its own PEP.
PEP aims to help protect Philippine shoppers with their online shopping experience by only onboarding government-registered Philippine businesses.