United States President Joe Biden's trade mission to the Philippines has generated around P1 billion US dollars-worth of investments in the country, which are set to create educational and career opportunities for about 30 million Filipinos.
The US Department of Commerce on Tuesday, March 13, released the figure as Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and 22 other US companies that flew to the Philippines concluded their two-day mission on March 12.
The investments came from the following:
- The Apl.de.Ap Foundation International (APLFI), led by Filipino-American Apl.de.Ap from the Black Eyed Peas, has partnered with Legacy EV to launch the Philippines’ first Electric Mobility Education and Development Center, which will provide comprehensive training in EV technology, repair, maintenance, and the installation and operation of charging infrastructure.
- Google is rolling out Google Career Certificates in 50 Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) virtual campuses. Separately, Google is on target to complete the TPU (Taiwan-Philippines-United States) subsea cable system by the end of 2025.
- Mastercard will empower over 10,000 Filipino small business owners with access to digital financial services and credit, along with financial literacy training. It collaborated with white-labelled tech platform Boost Capital to scale its proprietary technology to financial service providers, equipping them with AI tools and alternative data that can be used to better meet the needs of underserved small businesses.
- Microsoft is working with the Central Bank of the Philippines and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and DTI to identify how Microsoft 365 Copilot chatbot tool, as well as Azure OpenAI, capabilities can boost the agencies’ productivity and better serve citizens.
Through partnerships being launched during this Mission, Microsoft and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are also helping to train 100,000 Philippine women and thousands more job seekers in AI skills, while the Department of Education (DepEd) is deploying Microsoft’s AI-powered literacy tool to 27 million Philippine students. Through a new partnership with Unconnected.org, Microsoft will help bring internet access to 1 million people across the Philippines. Finally, Microsoft is rolling out new cybersecurity services to safeguard the integrity of electoral processes.
- Visa partnered with DTI to advance its digitalization efforts in the Philippines that are designed to empower and educate Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with financial and business literacy, and deliver on Visa’s $100 million pledge to upskill MSMEs in APEC developing economies.
- InnovationForce is in talks to form a new partnership with the Philippines’ largest owner and operator of renewable energy, AboitizPower to allow AboitizPower to leverage InnovationForce’s platform to accelerate, scale, and grow innovation to continue leading the clean energy transition.
- KKR expects to continue investing approximately 400 million US dollars for its plans to develop and acquire roughly 2,000 towers to support digital connectivity across the Philippines.
- Sol-Go is investing in solar panel production to further elevate the Philippines as a hub for high tech manufacturing and provides the United States with a reliable partner to produce lightweight solar panels.
- UltraPass ID signed an agreement with DBM, which will identify specific ICT projects for UltraPass’s Decentralized Trust Platform for biometric authentication and data sharing within government applications.
- Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation is working with the Philippine utility company Meralco on a carbon-free electrical generation system. They are expected to launch a new phase of electricity generation in the Philippines using Ultra Safe’s advanced nuclear battery.
- United Airlines announced its expansion in the Philippines through new year-round, non-stop service from Cebu to Tokyo (Narita International Airport), starting July 31. This makes United the only US carrier to offer daily flights to Cebu.
- UPS announced its plans to provide skills training to 500 Philippines-based small and medium sized company representatives to help strengthen supply chain resilience. Its program will help small businesses self-assess their strengths and vulnerabilities benchmarking against industry best practices.
- The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) will hold its annual Philippines Business Mission from May 20-23, 2024. Over the course of three days, the mission will bring together the best of the US private sector and the highest levels of Philippine government officials in focused and engaging dialogues on key priorities and collaboration opportunities.
There are also investments generated from companies that were not part of the mission.
- Meta made an investment to support the Philippine government’s new National Fiber Backbone Phase 1. This project will connect the United States with locations on the Philippine island of Luzon, the most populous island and home to Manila, and will be launched on March 25.
- Ally Power, a Maryland startup, announced a more than 400 million US dollars agreement with MPower (the Philippines’ largest electric retail supplier) to collaborate and build a hydrogen and electric refueling station. This station will produce hydrogen, electricity, and sodium aluminate to support the Philippines’ energy security and climate change agenda.
Raimondo said she was honored to lead the mission as it demonstrated "the innovation and possibilities that come from partnering with American companies."
"The Indo-Pacific includes some of the most dynamic economies in the world. It was an honor to lead the first-ever trade mission of this nature to the Philippines and to underscore the immense potential, which is evident in the more than 1 billion US dollars of investments from this mission alone," she said.
"We share an important relationship with the Philippines and I believe the work we accomplished over these last few days will make our partnership even stronger," she added.