PH pushes AI hub proposal to support MSMEs

The Philippines has proposed the establishment of an artificial intelligence (AI) hub aimed at helping micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) harness the transformative potential of AI technologies.

The proposal was cited in the chair’s statement of the 48th ASEAN Summit, which was posted on the ASEAN Philippines 2026 website.

The Philippines is hosting the 48th ASEAN Summit as chair of the regional bloc for 2026.

In the statement, ASEAN leaders said they welcomed the Philippines’ proposal for an “AI MSME Hub” to “further promote an inclusive, interoperable” initiative aligned with regional priorities on digital transformation, innovation, and sustainable development.

“We noted its objective to provide MSMEs with accessible tools, capacity-building programs, and advisory services to strengthen productivity and competitiveness, while supporting ASEAN in addressing the sovereign compute gap through shared and industrial-scale computing resources,” the statement read.

The Philippines is also set to host the ASEAN AI Summit in September 2026.

ASEAN leaders said the summit would serve as a “high-level platform to gather private sector inputs and catalyze the strategic partnership ecosystem for AI adoption.”—MCG, GMA News