President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has secured the trust and confidence of Google as the latter committed to help micro-small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines grow their businesses.

Google also vowed to train over 100,000 children and their parents on responsible use of digital technology.

Google’s Global Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy Karan Bhatia told President Marcos about their partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to upskill MSMEs in the digital landscape.

“I would flag the work we do with small and medium-sized businesses. So this is with the DTI. It’s to enable small businesses to get a presence online and figure out how do they connect with the rest of the world,” Bhatia told President Marcos.

Google has also partnered with the DTI and rolled out Google Career Certificates (GCC) in the department’s virtual campuses, covering over 1,300 DTI Negosyo Centers in 16 regions nationwide.

This builds upon the 40,000 GCC scholarships Google previously distributed to equip Filipino youths, jobseekers, MSMEs entrepreneurs, and civil servants with in-demand skills in project management, cybersecurity, IT support, data analytics, UX design, and digital marketing.

President Marcos met with Google executives shortly after his successful trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the White House on Thursday afternoon (local time) where they discussed ways forward to enhance economic and maritime cooperation of the three countries.

Bhatia also emphasized that Google is coming up with a program that aims to train over 100,000 Filipino kids along with their parents on how to safely and responsibly use digital technology being the most vulnerable sector in the society.

“Because kids are often online for a long period of time and we need to make sure that they know how to use the technology. So, we thus far engage in training for 100,000 Filipino kids and are going to continue to grow that as well,” he said.

He emphasized that Google is excited about expanding their businesses and operations in the Philippines as he emphasized that they are seeing about 50,000 employees in the Philippines.

Google Philippines, which started operations in 2013, supports the internet giant’s global operations by providing customer and operational support services in the country. |PND