WOMEN-LED micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) need stronger links to buyers, corporate supply chains and export markets, while greater access to digital tools can help them scale, business leaders said.
Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Regan Rex King said business groups, government agencies and larger companies should go beyond trade fairs and create more supplier linkages, procurement opportunities and connections that would allow small businesses to reach bigger markets.
“Sometimes, what is missing is the connection between the two,” King said, referring to MSMEs with products and the markets that could buy them.
He said MSMEs often ask how they can get their products into supermarkets, supply large companies, become part of government or corporate supply chains, or eventually export.
“That is where organizations like WomenBizPH and CCCI … have an important role to play,” King said during the fifth anniversary of the Women Strong Network in Cebu.
He said trade fairs provide entrepreneurs an opportunity to meet buyers and customers, but these should be followed by supplier matching, procurement opportunities and connections with larger enterprises.
The Women’s Business Council Philippines (WomenBizPH) mounted a three-day Women Strong Network Hybrid Trade Fair 2026 from Aug. 14-16 at SM City Cebu in celebration of its fifth year anniversary. The trade fair brought together inspiring women entrepreneurs and Filipino products from across the country.
Melanie Ng, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president for MSMEs, said there is already demand for some of the products being showcased.
Some exhibitors were unable to participate in the Cebu leg of the trade fair because their products had already sold out in Manila, Ng said, prompting her to encourage participating MSMEs to increase their stocks and production.
“This is an example” that there is a market, she said.
WomenBizPH president Rosemarie Ong said the Women Strong Network has helped connect women entrepreneurs to markets and customers over the past five years, with some participants eventually scaling up and exporting their products within the Asean region.
She said the program provides entrepreneurs with knowledge and tools, including technology, to help them strengthen their businesses and expand into larger markets.
King also identified digitalization as an important component of MSME growth, saying the challenge is often not an entrepreneur’s willingness to adopt technology but access to affordable connectivity, training and appropriate tools.
He said businesses that initially use social media to promote their products can eventually move into e-commerce, digital payments, online accounting and international sales.
“Digital inclusion is not just a technology issue; it is a business issue, and ultimately it is an economic issue,” King said.
He also called for a different approach to business formalization, saying registration, permits, documentation and compliance should be viewed not only as requirements but as mechanisms that can open access to financing and institutional buyers.
“When business is properly documented, it becomes easier to access financing. It becomes easier to enter supply chains to deal with institutional buyers, and it becomes easier to grow,” he said.
King said Cebu has an opportunity to become a stronger platform for women-led MSMEs by bringing together entrepreneurs, government, business groups, financial institutions and private-sector partners.
The goal, he said, should be an ecosystem where women are not merely invited to participate in business but are also able to help shape the business environment and compete in local, national and regional markets. / KOC
