What projects in the last two years are you most proud of? Why?

Martin Yu (MY): Being part of Shopee means doing impactful work. I am proud that we can always ground our initiatives on our core mission of serving the underserved through technology. When we first launched Shopee Bayanihan in 2020, we assisted those whose livelihood was affected by the sudden lockdown. Today, Shopee Bayanihan continues to evolve as a multifaceted program with various initiatives catering to the needs of Filipino communities. In 2021, we launched the Resbakuna Vaccine Education Campaign in partnership with the DOH; the Fully Vaxxed package, which incentivised users to complete their vaccination doses; and Vaccination Center Support, which provided food, health essentials, and air coolers to chosen vaccination centres in Makati, Taguig, and Quezon City. Most recently, we opened an in-app donation portal under Shopee Bayanihan in partnership with various charity organisations to enable users to donate to those affected by Typhoon Karding. Through our initiatives so far, we have been able to help and serve millions of Filipinos by supporting our modern-day heroes, educating the public on important topics such as vaccination, and providing immediate relief to calamity-stricken areas. We are proud of our continuous work to digitalise and onboard as many MSMEs as possible. More and more Filipinos venture into the digital economy and experience the multiple benefits of e-commerce. One of our main priorities at Shopee is to continuously help our local MSMEs across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to start, scale, and succeed through e-commerce. To do this, we have ramped up our seller initiatives in the country. This includes rolling out more programmes for our sellers in Visayas and Mindanao, including on-ground seller-focused events that help them understand the basics of setting up an online presence while equipping them with the tools to do just that. Earlier this year, we hosted the Shopee University Roadshow, a workshop designed to upskill online sellers, and Shopee Kumustahan, a roundtable discussion for local sellers in Davao and Cebu.

What challenges do you see now in your respective industry? How do you intend to help address these challenges?

MY: If you look at the DTI’s e-commerce roadmap, it highlights several factors to grow e-commerce: a fast, reliable, and affordable communications network, efficient financial and logistics systems and infrastructure. Growing e-commerce needs making the platform more accessible for all Filipinos, wherever they may be. As the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, Shopee believes that we can contribute in several ways:

1. Enable all Filipinos, most especially those from rural communities, to access and benefit from the digital economy

2. Help the local government advance the local digital economy

3. Maximise our platform to provide support to local businesses

4. Empower sellers to take their online business to the next level with dedicated programs and tools to aid them.

Through these initiatives, we work closely with our partners’ ecosystem to reap the benefits of digitisation for Filipinos while addressing the changing needs and habits of our shoppers, sellers, and brands. All in all, we aim to provide a reliable, seamless, and secure e-commerce experience for everyone.