CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Traders attending the 35th Mindanao Business Conference here are pushing for mobile banking innovations to boost the region’s P2-trillion agricultural economy.
Maricel Casiño-Rivera, a director of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Oro Chamber), said mobile banking innovations could boost Mindanao’s agricultural economy, particularly its informal sector, which generates between ₱150 billion and ₱200 billion annually.
“The informal sector is largely undeveloped. It is not connected to the banking financial system,” Rivera said.
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The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in its 2023 report, stated that the backbone of Mindanao’s food basket consists of small, family-operated farms rather than large corporate establishments.
The report noted that beyond small farm owners, Mindanao’s informal agricultural sector comprises subsistence farmers, fishermen, and local market vendors.
Local trader George Goking said the financial potential in this largely untapped sector could be enormous—especially if mobile banking is made available to them—drawing a parallel to similar developments in Indonesia.
“Indonesian farmers, fishermen, and vendors are enjoying cashless transactions through mobile banking. Their potential to earn more money has become endless,” Goking told the Inquirer in an interview.
Angela Grace Pupos, GCash area manager for Small Enterprises in North and Western Mindanao, said mobile banking provides microcredit, streamlines supply chains, and reduces heavy reliance on cash.
Pupos said mobile banking innovators like GCash are reshaping how small community entrepreneurs, farmers, and fishermen move away from manual, cash-heavy transactions.
She said providing digital banking to informal sector players would make their everyday transactions easier, faster, and more connected. /mcm