Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that Philippine exports in March 2021 increased by 31.6% compared to the same month last year, putting the country’s export growth year-to-date in the positive territory at 7.6%. This progress is due to the rollout of vaccination programs nationwide, allowing Filipinos to move towards herd immunity, revert businesses to their pre-pandemic state, and ultimately repair the economy.
Contributing to the country’s positive turnaround in exports is 1Export. The tech-enabled exporting company has distributed a total of 3,000 tonnes of products to 23 different countries, generating around $500,000 or PHP25 million in export sales as of June 2021. Because of this, 1Export accounted for 0.2% of the total Philippine exports―and the company isn’t planning to just stop there.
“It goes without saying that the pandemic has and continues to significantly affect the Philippine economy. But as we move forward and accept the business landscape in the new normal, 1Export is happy to contribute to the country’s recovery by circulating business transactions through exports and helping businesses expand their horizons,” said Mel Nava, founder and CEO of 1Export.
To further fulfill its mission of helping micro, small and medium enterprises in the Philippines reach more markets, 1Export plans to export products to 60 countries by the end of 2022. With the help of its business-to-business-to-consumer venture, Caravan, 1Export is ready to take on the world and empower more Filipinos to resell products proudly made in the Philippines to other markets.
All-around exporting services
Founded in 2016, 1Export promises to help MSMEs in the Philippines to grow their business and expand in different countries using digital tools and platforms. The company currently has markets in the US, Australia, Canada, UAE, Kuwait, UK, and more.
What makes the company unique is that it’s more than just an e-commerce or logistics platform―1Export takes third-party exporting to the next level by vetting local products to be cross-border compliant, allowing local businesses to follow the laws of the market they want to explore or expand to. Compliance is often one of the most difficult steps to accomplish when expanding to other countries with different policies and laws, so having a reliable partner to handle export compliance can lift some burden off of the shoulders of Filipino business owners.
“When you’re a business owner, you want to be working ‘on’ your business rather than ‘in’ your business as the saying goes. We enable Filipino entrepreneurs to achieve just that―instead of spending so much time and effort learning about the complexities of importing in different countries, they can focus on the core business activities that will enable them to scale,” said Nava.
Moreover, 1Export offers all-around exporting services, covering compliance documentation, product labeling, logistics, export facilitation, and marketing services. The company also provides its clients with intensive business matching services to determine which of their products fit certain markets. By doing so, local businesses can seamlessly expand abroad, boost their brand awareness, reach their target market, and grow their sales. Through its comprehensive services, 1Export has been able to reduce time and costs by 80% for exporting.
On another hand, Caravan by 1Export provides aspiring Filipinos entrepreneurs living or working abroad a catalogue of unique and authentic Filipino products―ranging from food to clothing to beauty products―which they can choose from to start their own business where they are. If entrepreneurs want to sell items not available on the catalogue, Caravan by 1Export is ready to assist them in finding their preferred goods, as long as they’re export-compliant.
1Export and Caravan provides Filipino entrepreneurs a myriad of opportunities to expand their business in new markets, as well as spread and empower the Filipino culture across the world. Entrepreneurs need only to sign up on 1Export’s website as a supplier partner to kick off their journey in business.
The pandemic may have put many aspects of life and business on hold, but it also became an opportunity for millions of Filipinos to explore entrepreneurship and set up shop with the help of digital tools. With companies such as 1Export simplifying export and e-commerce processes as well, local businesses have all the opportunities and resources they could ever need to not just weather the global crisis but even grow and thrive in the long run.