A few weeks ago, my good friend Doris Magsaysay-Ho hosted a dinner for 35 to 40 people involved in technology and e-commerce. We were also at the dinner as Doris, who heads the Asia Society Philippines and APEC Business Advisory Council, would like to partner with Go Negosyo and has tapped us for the forthcoming APEC Summit on SME Development. As we share the same vision of empowering MSMEs, we are fortunate to be considered as an institutional partner.

The dinner also served as a welcome dinner for her good friend, Diane Wang, to share her views on e-commerce. Diane, who is the founder and CEO of DHGate.com, gave a compelling presentation on the driving force behind e-commerce business in China: on cross-border e-commerce, the next decade of e-commerce and how to capture this opportunity.

Diane said that in 2014, APEC prioritized the enhancement of SMEs’ global competitiveness. ICT and e-commerce were identified as the best ways to enable SMEs to access financing, global markets, and sustain empowerment.

In China, they have empowered Chinese SMEs to transform and upgrade their business through e-commerce. The biggest driving force behind this success is the millions of Chinese SMEs that were encouraged to grow their businesses online. Over the years, e-commerce has directly created 1.8 million jobs plus 16.5 million jobs in e-commerce within the business.

The Internet is really a great equalizer. We all can make this happen if we raise the level of awareness and knowhow. The Internet has indeed reached a stage where it can make one fulfill his or her dream and beat poverty!

We are looking forward to this partnership with Doris and the APEC Business Advisory Council on how we can empower MSMEs in 2015.