DTI, Converge launch AI hub for Philippine MSMEs

The Department of Trade and Industry, in partnership with Converge ICT Solutions Inc., is expanding support for micro, small and medium enterprises and local startups through the DTI AI and Scale Up Center, where entrepreneurs can test artificial intelligence tools, showcase products, and develop strategies to grow their businesses.

The initiative seeks to lower the cost and knowledge barriers that can prevent smaller enterprises from adopting emerging technologies, giving entrepreneurs access to infrastructure, training, collaboration spaces, and business networks that could improve productivity and help them compete with larger companies.

The stakes extend well beyond the technology sector because MSMEs account for most Philippine businesses and a majority of establishment-based employment. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2023 List of Establishments show that 1,241,733 MSMEs represented 99.63% of the country’s 1,246,373 establishments and employed 6,351,466 workers, or 66.97% of total employment.

The center addresses another persistent hurdle for small businesses and entrepreneurs by providing a dedicated venue where ideas can be developed into viable products while giving enterprises a platform to display their innovations.

Trade Secretary Cristina Roque emphasized the need for a facility where MSMEs can learn how to use AI to expand their operations, encouraging entrepreneurs to adopt new technology rather than fear it.

Roque said the center will give MSMEs priority access to innovation, pathways toward developing global brands, and opportunities to contribute to nation-building.

The government formally launched the AI and Scale-Up Center in Makati City on Aug. 11, with Roque saying the facility forms part of efforts to improve the digital capabilities of small businesses and help them reach international markets.

Through its SME Solutions group, Converge provided boosted 130 Mbps connectivity to the Scale Up Center so MSMEs using the facility can access high-speed broadband.

Converge SME Solutions also offers right-sized tools, including Business Broadband and E-Commerce Connectivity Solutions, which the company said are designed to be easy to deploy, cost-efficient, and scalable as businesses expand.

“Like we’ve said in Converge, fiber internet is essential for MSMEs, but it’s just the beginning. They need a range of tools and an enabling environment to help them scale and grow. This is what we aim to provide at Converge as well,” noted Dindo Marzan, head of SME Group at Converge.

The center, dubbed the “Enterprise Gateway to the Future,” also features innovation-focused MSMEs such as Redfox Tech Ventures Incorporated, a Filipino technology brand whose products are displayed throughout the hub.

Aivee Lynne Te, a representative of Redfox Tech Ventures Incorporated, said the company is using the facility not only to build brand awareness but also to support DTI’s broader mission through its own program for aspiring entrepreneurs.

“We actually call it the Redfox Innovation and Start-Up Hub, to help them for example sa mga wala pang puhunan (start-up capital), we just ask them to register and then they will be able to use our products and sell. And we also provide the venue and ano yung mga kakailanganin nila (whatever they need), as a start-up entrepreneur,” Te noted.

Businesses may feature their products directly at the facility and use spaces intended for building, co-creating, and expanding their operations.

Resources at the center include co-innovation spaces, an AI showcase and demo space, a training room, startup accelerator pods, and meeting rooms.

The facility spans 380 square meters and also includes areas intended for co-working, technology demonstrations, training, and startup development, according to reports on its launch.

Competitiveness and Innovation Group Assistant Secretary Nylah Rizza Bautista said the center is intended to function as more than a conventional technology showroom.

“It’s a center where they can build and connect with other entrepreneurs, developers and enterprises. It’s an ecosystem of innovation so the MSMEs will know where to go.”

Bautista said that unlike the Competitiveness and Innovation Group’s previous trade fair initiatives, which focused mainly on market access, the new hub is designed to help MSMEs scale their operations by applying AI to practical business needs.

Those applications include inventory management and product design, areas where automation and data-driven tools could help smaller businesses reduce inefficiencies and respond more quickly to customer demand.

The center also builds on a broader government push to make MSMEs more capable of using AI. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the DTI in 2024 to help small businesses adopt AI-powered systems as part of efforts to improve ease of doing business and keep enterprises competitive amid technological change.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said businesses should prepare their workers to use emerging technologies instead of treating AI solely as a substitute for human labor.

“AI is a reality for many businesses, big or small. What entrepreneurs, particularly small businesses, should do is have their people learn AI and use it in their operations. They should maximize these AI tools by integrating their data (as a business) with AI—from there you can get a lot of insights from your customers. That will help MSMEs sell and position their products better.”

The DTI AI and Scale Up Center is located at the DTI Filinvest Makati Building and is open on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Individuals and businesses interested in collaborating with the center or requesting reservations and activity schedules may email aiandscaleupcenter@dti.gov.ph.