GCash Wais Tindera Caravan equips small entrepreneurs with digital finance skills

With over 1 million micro, small, and medium enterprises recorded across the Philippinessmaller business owners form the backbone of the Philippine economy—yet they are the ones who still suffer from a gap in financial literacy and access.

GCash has put in the effort to remedy this situation through the launch of their Wais Tindera Caravan, a financial literacy program that travels to communities and neighborhoods nationwide across the Philippines to teach finance and money basics, tips, and insights that a business owner especially needs to know about.

The country’s leading finance superapp launched the program to help MSMEs unlock the benefits of going digital—expanding their customer reach, enabling faster and safer transactions, and opening more opportunities to grow their businesses with tools such as access to credit.

“MSMEs are the backbone of our economy, yet many close within five years because running a business in the Philippines remains challenging,” says CJ Alegre, Head of Sustainability at GCash.

“Through our Wais Tindera financial literacy programs, we equip nano- and microentrepreneurs with practical skills to start, manage, and grow their businesses, and we introduce digital tools like GCash to help them run operations more efficiently and safely. This strengthens financial inclusion and supports a more resilient digital economy.”

The Wais Tindera Caravan made its stop at Brgy. Tunasan, Muntinlupa City. At the event, small business owners, primarily women and mothers, listened to resource speakers teach the important basics of budgeting, getting and paying for loans, saving their money, and protecting themselves from common SMS and online scams.

“Masaya at marami akong natununan sa Wais Tindera Caravan, lalo na sa pagbubudget at magtabi ng pera na pang-gastos. Balak kong gamitin ang GCash account at card pang-savings (The Wais Tindera Caravan was fun and we learned a lot, especially when it comes to budgeting and setting aside money for spending. I plan to use my new GCash account and card to save money),” said 53-year-old attendee Ayrene Advincula.

The finlit caravan has many stops and was piloted in 12 municipalities in Metro Manila in 2025. These include Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Manila, Caloocan, Taguig, San Juan, Marikina, Las Piñas, Makati, and Mandaluyong. These include 

Helping entrepreneurs with GCash Pera Outlet Plus

GCash also rolled out the GCash Pera Outlet Plus service, which serves as a touchpoint that links Filipino small, micro, and nano-entrepreneurs with GCash and its financial services.

GCash is making it much easier for small businesses to go digital through simple online onboarding and fast approval, allowing sari-sari stores and micro-enterprises to offer cash-in, cash-out, and bills payment services to their communities and neighborhoods.

With GCash Pera Outlet as well as GCash for Business, these entrepreneurs gain digital tools that can help them track sales, manage transactions, and organize daily operations.

Financial capital, a much-needed resource for business owners to take the first step into entrepreneurship, is also made more accessible.

“Access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers for small business owners, with traditional formal lenders requiring collateral and informal lenders charging high interest. Through Fuse, the lending arm of GCash, members of GCash Pera Outlet can access collateral-free loans of up to ₱350,000,” Alegre explains.

“We are using an AI-powered scoring system that assesses their digital activities that serves as their credit score. This ensures first-time borrowers get fair, safe, and manageable credit that helps them grow their business with dignity.”

All of the GCash services for Filipino business owners are also protected by safeguards in all of the transactions in the app, from OTP verification to confirmation checks. GCash is also vigilant in constantly providing cybersecurity education to the public, with promotional campaigns such as GSafe Tayo.

“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and we continue to strengthen our systems so SMEs stay one step ahead of scammers,” Alegre concludes. “[All of our efforts strengthen] financial inclusion and supports a more resilient digital economy.”

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by GCash.