bridgeway to ASEAN. The Digital Pilipinas Festival was officially launched recently, with the attendance of 28 embassies and trade and investment offices, industry leaders, and business leaders from the ASEAN region, United Kingdom, European Union, Asia, and North America, including the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN.
The gathering reinforced the collaborative goal of positioning the Philippines as an investment hub and digital bridgeway to ASEAN and the world. It also offered a sneak peek into the activities that will take place at the five-day Digital Pilipinas Festival, happening from November 20 to 24, 2023, at SMX Aura in BGC.
Tracing back Digital Pilipinas’s commitment to collaborative initiatives that drive progress and national innovation, Amor Maclang, Convenor of Digital ASEAN, Digital Pilipinas, and the Philippine FinTech Festival, Co-founder of the One ASEAN Fintech Movement and GeiserMaclang, says, “The Philippines has proven to be competitive in the digital economy among its ASEAN counterparts.
Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to ASEAN Ambassador Quintana emphasizes that the Philippine Government is “implementing several strategies to create the necessary environment to enable the creative industries, as well as information technology and business process management sectors to participate in the ASEAN and global value chains.”
Meanwhile, Canadian Ambassador David Hartman draws on the similarities between the Philippines and Canada in their adoption of digital assets and artificial intelligence, attributing it to one of the country’s strengths. “The Philippine market’s affinity for consuming and creating digital assets, as well as its boldness in exploring artificial intelligence, parallels Canada’s initiatives as one of the first countries to launch a national AI strategy, investing $125M in research in 2017 and $443.
Looking at how the Philippines has embarked on a plan to digitalize a lot of the platforms in the government and private sector shows that the Philippines is ready for growth. I think the digital revolution, especially in the trade and investment industries, brings about great benefits and opportunities for countries such as the Philippines and of course, ASEAN.”