A global entrepreneurship survey conducted by GoDaddy reveals that 81 percent of Filipino small business owners reported a drop in revenue and have had to deal with temporary business closures. Despite this, one in three Filipino micro-entrepreneurs started a business during the pandemic—and are still able to support their local community.
More than 5,000 small business owners from the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States responded to the survey. Over 90 percent of the respondents have less than 10 employees while half of them are solo business operators.
Seventy-two percent of Filipino entrepreneurs believe that business ventures must positively impact local communities, the highest among all countries. Thirty percent of Filipino respondents even said they donated a share of their profit with charities as a way to contribute to the nation’s recovery. In terms of business resilience, 76 percent expect to recover within a year (higher than the 71 percent global average).
And because running a physical business is a limitation in the crisis, 60 percent of local entrepreneurs use technology as a means to keep afloat. Twenty-three percent use digital platforms as primary channels to reach customers with 51 percent utilizing social media and messaging apps.
Digitalization allows entrepreneurs to reach customers and at the same time give back to their communities, observes GoDaddy Asia marketing director Tina Shieh. There is a growing interest in digital technologies and other e-commerce tools to strengthen microbusinesses in the pandemic.