SEC lines up at least 7 more stops for MSME roadshow after Zamboanga 

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday said that it had recently capped the Zamboanga leg of its year-long micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups roadshow, with at least seven more areas lined up in the coming months.   

In a media release, the regulator said it is set to bring its capital market roadshow to Bacolod, followed by Legazpi, Iloilo, Tarlac, Baguio, the Calabarzon region, and Metro Manila.   

Previous stagings were in Davao, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.  

“The Zamboanga leg attracted more than a hundred onsite participants and 83 virtual participants, consisting of executives from companies, business groups, and government agencies,” the SEC said. 

The campaign is part of its aim to further grow the potential of MSMEs “in line with President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr.’s thrust to provide different financing options for small businesses.”  

The commission said the event was led by the SEC Office for the Advancement of Strategic Investments in SMEs (OASIS), which was established to encourage more enterprises to consider capital market financing.  

During the roadshow, the SEC presented crowdfunding measures as an accessible and convenient means for businesses to raise funding for its expansion by asking the public to support or fund a business idea through an online platform.  

Officials from SeedIn Technology, Inc., Investree Philippines, and Eastern Securities Development Corp. (Round One) presented how MSMEs can avail their crowdfunding services.  

As of December 2022, over 200 enterprises have raised their capital through the platforms of Investree and Seedin Technology. 

“SeedIn Technology’s platform alone has seen a total of P1.34 billion raised funds for 259 projects during the same period,” the commission said.  

The participants of the event were also given an opportunity to engage in personal consultations with the platforms’ officials during break-out sessions.  

“This underscores the fact that there is a viable alternative to banks and traditional fund-raising methods… especially as businesses are starting to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Zamboanga City Representative Khymer Adan Olaso said in a statement. — Adrian H. Halili