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15th PHILSME Business Expo: A venue, platform for SMEs to showcase businesses, opportunity for expansion
The Philippine SME Business Expo (PHILSME), now on its 15th edition, is seeking to provide a venue for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to promote their businesses and find potential investing partners to further grow their ventures.
At the opening day of the business-to-business trade show for SMEs at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Pasay City, Philippine SME Business Expo CEO and Managing Director Trixie Esguerra-Abrenilla told GMA Integrated News that the turnout of registrants for the expo exceeded her expectations.
“I was expecting 10,000 pre-registrations, but now we’ve hit 17,000,” Abrenilla said in a mix of English and Filipino.
She said the 15th PHILSME Business Expo, with the theme “Unlock Upliftment: Taking on Innovation, Coalition and Excellent Client Relations for an Empowered Nation,” aims to gather start-up founders, small business owners, and entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations and solutions to potential customers and parters to drive growth for their businesses.
Abrenilla added that the PHILSME Business Expo also opened its doors for college students taking business management courses.
“Because we understand that they’re the next generation… beyond classroom, this is an opportunity for the next generation to get better at business,” she said.
Over 120 sponsors and exhibitors are expected to showcase 180 business solutions across various sectors such as finance, banking, advertising, healthcare, HR and recruitment, IT, payroll solutions, logistics, co-working spaces, franchising, telecommunications, AI solutions, tourism, business outsourcing solutions, web design services, and more.
Organized by Mediacom Solutions Inc., the event will also feature 30 keynotes and presentations by industry leaders and experts offering valuable insights and strategies to 9,000 business owners, aiming to help them boost their marketing, revenue, and business growth plans.
Among the keynote presenters are Design for Tomorrow CEO and Creative Director Ric Gindap, who shared about the importance of impactful branding for MSMEs; and Ai-CHA representative for franchise and business development Martin Adrian Antonio, who talked about Indonesian milk tea and ice cream franchise Ai-CHA’s plan on expanding in the Philippines.
The 15th PHILSME Business Expo’s sponsors include Ai-CHA Ice Cream & Tea Philippines, QNE Software Philippines, Inc, Odoo, GCash for Business, Benchmark, Bossjob, Security Bank, and more.
Abrenilla described SMEs as “backbone” of the economy as the sector comprises over 90% of employers in the country.
“The sector is not something to be missed out on… All of us transact with a small business every day, be it a ‘carinderia’ or restaurant… Those are MSMEs,” she said.
“That’s why, as long as we can, we will continue doing events like this for people to come together,” Abrenilla added.
The 15th PHILSME Business Expo will run from November 22 to 23, 2024 at 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
