Shopee and the Iloilo City Government are deepening their partnership under the city’s Sustainable Income Generation Through Entrepreneurship (SIGE) Asenso program, introducing sustained, quarterly digital commerce coaching—marking the first time a Tatak Pinoy MSME Roadshow engagement has evolved from a single workshop into an ongoing local government partnership.
The announcement was made at the culmination of the Tatak Pinoy MSME Roadshow’s first year, which brought practical digital commerce training to more than 1,200 businesses across 20 cities and municipalities. Designed as a grassroots capability-building program, the Roadshow works with local governments to bring training into their communities, making practical e-commerce guidance more accessible to entrepreneurs where they are.
During its first year, some LGUs requested repeat sessions to reach more constituents. At the same time, Shopee also developed tailored sessions for groups including families of Philippine National Police Eastern Police District personnel and members of MSME organizations.
Tatak Pinoy is also designed to bring together practical guidance across different aspects of running a business online. Rather than having entrepreneurs piece together support from separate providers, the Roadshow combines Shopee’s expertise in helping businesses start and scale online, SPX’s guidance on logistics and fulfillment, and Monee’s financial literacy program for small businesses, including managing finances and cash flow.
From a single workshop to sustained coaching
The Roadshow’s first year also highlighted a consistent insight: bringing training closer gives entrepreneurs an important starting point, but many benefit from continued guidance as they put what they learn into practice.
“Meeting entrepreneurs in different communities gave us a clearer view of what they need when starting or growing a business online. Bringing practical training closer makes it easier for them to access support, but we also learned that continued guidance matters as they begin applying what they learn,” said Jack Ng, Head of Commercial, Shopee Philippines. “That’s what’s shaping how we’re evolving the Roadshow into its second year,” he added.
In Iloilo, that learning is taking shape through a quarterly engagement with participants of the city’s SIGE Asenso capacity-building initiatives.
Under this partnership, the Tatak Pinoy Roadshow coaches will return to Iloilo every quarter to train participants already enrolled in the city’s SIGE Asenso capability-building initiatives.
Participating MSMEs will receive:
- Quarterly coaching from Shopee, SPX, and Monee covering different aspects of running a business online
- A six-month onboarding support package for eligible graduates who begin selling on Shopee
- Continued coaching between sessions as they apply what they have learned
- Access to information on business registration and related government services
“Entrepreneurs need different kinds of support as their businesses develop. This partnership complements what the city is already building through SIGE Asenso, giving participants regular access to practical guidance that can help them start selling online or improve how they currently operate,” said Iloilo City Mayor Raisa S. Treñas.
Aside from the Tatak Pinoy training, entrepreneurs also received on-site guidance through a one-stop shop for business registration and related services from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), among other national government agencies and local government offices.
As Tatak Pinoy MSME Roadshow enters its second year, Shopee will explore deeper, more sustained partnerships with other local governments, shaped by what it learned from its first year, ensuring its commitments remain responsive to each community’s needs.
“We want to give entrepreneurs practical support wherever they are in their business journey. What we learned from our partnerships in Year 1 and now with Iloilo City will help shape how we build similarly meaningful collaborations with other local governments going forward,” Ng added.
