Why this program?

• In the Philippines, there are nearly 6 million micro and small businesses, representing more than 99% of all businesses.
• Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) contribute 63% of jobs and 36% of the country’s GDP, but they are largely underfinanced.
• About 66% of MSMEs are led by women who face more barriers in accessing financial and digital resources compared to their male counterparts.
• While they drive the country’s digitalization efforts, only 6% of MSMEs in the Philippines use advanced digital tools, while 23% still lack any digital tools.

Program overview

Despite the global rise of Generative AI, small businesses in emerging markets remain largely excluded from its benefits. While smartphone access has increased, there is still a significant gap between ownership and active use of digital tools for business management. Widespread adoption of B2B distribution or trade finance platforms in these markets has been challenging for technology providers, largely due to thin margins and limited technological savviness among small retailers. This presents a major opportunity to leverage AI to support small businesses, particularly those led by women.

The &frnds solution is a digital B2B platform that transforms the distribution landscape across the value chain of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGS). It enables large enterprises to digitalize their sales while equipping micro and small retailers with the AI technology they need to access targeted offers, a wider range of FMCG goods, embedded financial services, and bespoke business analytics—all through a simple, chat-based interface.

Leveraging insights from 150,000 retailers and strategic partnerships with Mastercard Strive and Microsoft, and the use of Azure OpenAI and Copilot, &frnds developed an AI Agent designed to serve small retailers. Their asset-light, human-centered model enhances distribution and trade finance by improving accessibility, efficiency, and productivity across the value chain.

The AI Agent simplifies order placements for both the supplier’s sales teams and small retailers using natural language processing, making the process as easy as sending a chat message.

Functioning like a 'Super App,' it generates vast amounts of data that fuel the platform’s analytics, which supports FMCG and financial services partners to boost sales, offer targeted promotions, and provide tailored embedded financing for small retailers.

&frnds AI-driven solution will unlock small businesses’ access to finance, improve their operational efficiency, and boost their sales and competitiveness. Through further strategic partnerships, &frnds aims to support women-led retailers in other emerging markets to leapfrog directly into the AI era.