Philippine SME Growth Summit 2026 Explores the Path from Scratch to Scale

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, 26 AUGUST 2026 — The Philippine SME Growth Summit 2026 brought together Filipino entrepreneurs, SME owners, industry leaders and business ecosystem partners for a day of practical discussions on building, adapting and scaling businesses in today's evolving commerce landscape. 

Organised by EasyStore, the summit brought together perspectives from business owners and industry experts across e-commerce, payments, customer engagement and logistics, with a focus on the challenges businesses face as they move from starting out to their next stage of growth.

From digitalisation and unified commerce to customer relationships and operational efficiency, the sessions explored how SMEs can build stronger foundations while continuing to adapt to changing customer behaviour and market conditions.

Unifying the Way Businesses Sell

The summit began with opening remarks by Hans How, President of MCCI Philippines, before EasyStore VP of Merchant Success Lee Wei Hong delivered the keynote, “Unify to Multiply.”

The session explored the growing complexity of selling across marketplaces, social media, websites and physical stores. While having multiple channels can help businesses reach more customers, managing them separately can also create fragmented operations, from inventory and order management to customer information and engagement.

The keynote introduced unified commerce as an approach to bringing these different touchpoints together, allowing businesses to manage their channels, inventory and orders through a more connected system.

The discussion also highlighted the importance of building direct customer relationships alongside marketplace reach, particularly as businesses look to strengthen their brands and encourage repeat purchases.

From 0 to 1 — and Beyond

The summit then moved from strategy to a real entrepreneurial journey, with Bryan Lu, Founder of Jabbre Motocom, sharing the story behind building his business.

Starting with two, Jabbre Motocom entered a market that was unfamiliar to the team. Its journey involved experimenting, listening to customers, learning from mistakes and making changes along the way as the business expanded into new markets and communities.

The story provided a practical perspective on what it takes to move from the early stages of a business to the next level — with adaptability and a willingness to learn playing an important role along the way.

Real Stories, Challenges and Lessons from Filipino Business Owners

These themes continued during the “From Scratch to Scale” panel discussion, moderated by Chester Sy, Founder of BilisBenta & Foodify PH, with Hans How, Bryan Lu, Sharlynne Go and Praise Lam sharing their experiences as business owners.

From left to right: Chester Sy (Founder, BilisBenta & Foodify PH), Hans How (Founder, SIV Home Deco), Sharlynne Go (Founder & Ops Lead, Kumatcha) , Praise Lam (Founder & Marketing Lead, Kumatcha), Bryan Lu (Founder, Jabbre Motocom)

The panel explored the balance between selling through major marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada and TikTok and building owned channels that allow businesses to strengthen their brand and customer relationships.

Panellists also discussed the growing importance of operational efficiency as businesses expand across multiple channels. Commerce solutions such as EasyStore were highlighted as one way businesses can centralise their sales channels and operations, helping them maintain better visibility as they grow.

Rather than focusing solely on short-term profits, the discussion encouraged business owners to think about customer retention, problem-solving and the ability to adapt as their businesses evolve.

Connecting the Commerce Ecosystem

The summit also brought together partners from different parts of the e-commerce ecosystem.

Ryan Clarin, Head of SME Sales at PayMongo, shared perspectives on digital payments and the role of a seamless checkout experience in supporting online sales.

Karla Banua, Advertising Sales Director – APAC at Rakuten Viber, explored customer engagement and how businesses can use messaging, communities and digital tools to connect with customers.

Meanwhile, Sean E. Pestaño, Associate Vice President, LENT, ECOM & LSG, Corporate Sales at LBC Express Inc., discussed the logistics and fulfilment challenges that businesses encounter as they scale and serve customers across the Philippines.

Together, the sessions highlighted that growing an e-commerce business involves more than simply adding sales channels. Payments, customer engagement, operations and fulfilment all play a role in creating a seamless customer experience.

The Philippine SME Growth Summit 2026 brought together different perspectives from Filipino entrepreneurs, industry experts and commerce partners, creating a space for business owners to exchange experiences and explore practical ways to navigate the next stage of growth.

From building a business from scratch to managing multiple sales channels and creating stronger customer relationships, the summit highlighted that the path to growth is rarely one-size-fits-all — and that businesses must continue to learn, adapt and evolve as they grow.