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0Guaya: the story of empowering SMEs in Southeast Asia
Coming from the Philippines, Guaya is a serial fintech entrepreneur focusing on the empowerment of SMEs in Southeast Asia. She has 10+ years of experience in the financial sector as a startup founder, a specialist for international development agencies, and an independent consultant working with government agencies. It is commonly known that SMEs play a significant role in the Southeast Asian economy, but they also face a lot of challenges, especially after the pandemic when digitalization has become the trend. From Vesl, an insurtech startup that helps SMEs obtain financing to facilitate business operations, to Mochi, a PH billing and collections platform that digitalizes the invoicing process of SMEs to fuel growth, Guaya believes in the power of technology and is leading Mochi to make finance more accessible in every accounts receivable.
来自菲律宾的Guaya是东南亚金融科技领域知名的连续创业者，尤其是专注于赋能中小微企业。她在金融领域的不同行业有10年以上的经验，也是一些政府机构和国际机构聘用的专家。众所周知，东南亚数量庞大的中小微企业是当地经济的中流砥柱，然而，这些企业面临的挑战也不容小觑。尤其是疫情之后，中小微企业的数字化更加迫在眉睫。从2017年联合创立专注于中小微企业保理服务的Vesl到如今的财务自动化平台Mochi，Guaya深信只有不断通过科技赋能中小微企业，帮助这些企业做大做强，才是她作为创业者的使命与热爱。欢迎收听Guaya的故事！
00:34 Guaya's background
01:42 Why Guaya loves entrepreneurship
02:44 Guaya's journey as a startup founder
07:34 Mochi's proposition and product
13:54 How SMEs have been affected by the pandemic
15:58 Some of Mochi's milestones
20:48 Guaya's take on the PH market and its potential
Highlights:
1. Only a small percentage of SMEs in PH get support from business loans etc. and it's a far cry compared to other Southeast Asian countries, which also means huge growth potential in the sector.
2. The pandemic has been a game changer for SMEs in Southeast Asia and has boosted digitalization across sectors and countries.
3. Fintech in PH is a huge sector with a lot of opportunities, including digital banks etc.
Guaya主要观点：
1. 相比很多东南亚国家，菲律宾的中小微企业很少能获得资金支持，赋能中小微企业，做数字化服务是非常有潜力的。
2. 疫情对东南亚的中小微企业有重大影响，也极大促进了数字化的趋势。
3. 金融科技领域是菲律宾未来的增长重点，很多细分领域，比如数字银行等都大有可为。
Hosts
Kate: VC investor/entrepreneur
Julia: overseas Internet industry practitioner
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Chloe: Postdoc fellow in US, research expertise in energy related areas.
