Mastercard ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit: Fuse Financing spotlights digital solutions as key to expanding formal credit access to MSMEs

(L-R) Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth senior vice president and moderator Subhashini Chandran; ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines chairman and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion III; Beacon Fund co-founder and chief executive officer Shuyin Tang; and Fuse Financing Inc. president and chief executive officer Tony Isidro

Small businesses remain the backbone of Southeast Asia’s economy, generating two out of every three jobs across the region. Yet despite their vital role, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) continue to face systemic barriers that hinder their growth—chief among them, limited access to capital.

At the recently concluded Mastercard ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit (AIGS), public and private sector leaders gathered to discuss how to turn these barriers into breakthroughs. 

Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash, the Philippines’ leading finance superapp and 

largest cashless ecosystem, joined the dialogue as a key private sector partner accelerating access to capital, data, and product innovation for MSME growth across the region.

The panel session, titled “Small business: From barriers to breakthrough,” featured Tony Isidro, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Fuse Financing Inc., Joey Concepcion III, Asean-Business Advisory Council Philippines chairman and Go Negosyo founder; and Shuyin Tang, CEO and co-founder of Beacon Fund; moderated by Subhashini Chandran, senior vice president of the Mastercard, Center for Inclusive Growth.

Isidro highlighted how digital tools are transforming credit access. In the Philippines, many MSMEs do not have access to formal lending because of lack of requirements, such as credit history.

“In the case of Fuse, we created a proprietary trust score, which we call GScore, which is in turn based on the MSME's footprint in the GCash ecosystem,” Isidro said. “Through GScore, we're able to remove the friction that's otherwise associated with formal lending—including collateral [and] additional documents.” 

Isidro noted that this data-driven approach allows them to identify eligible MSMEs who otherwise would have to resort to informal channels with abusive rates and harassment, enabling them to borrow to expand their business "with dignity.”

He stressed that achieving sustained progress requires collaboration with like-minded partners. “It's also important to note, and certainly for us, this is our belief, that no one organization can do that. It's this collaboration that will help move the needle for MSMEs in the Philippines,” the GCash official said.

As of the third quarter of 2025, Fuse has disbursed a total of P323 billion (~$5.5B) to 10.2 million unique borrowers. One in three borrowers are small business owners, three in five are women, and four in five come from the mass market.

Each loan helps users build a digital credit record, empowering them to access better rates over time while encouraging responsible borrowing through clear repayment terms and flexible payment options.

Chandran, meanwhile, agreed that financing should be more accessible to MSMEs. “[One] of the things we noted is that the health of Southeast Asia's economy really depends on how we finance the missing middle of small and growing businesses,” the Mastercard official explained. 

Representing the private sector, Concepcion emphasized that sustained progress requires long-term collaboration between business and government. “Big business, big countries who are able to have enough, should share with the smaller countries who have less,” he said. “[The] private sector cannot do it alone. You have to partner with your government. But it is not an overnight solution—it will take many years.”

From the investor’s perspective, Tang called for more targeted approaches to SME financing. “We really need to challenge ourselves to think a little differently about how [we can] localize our fund structures and models to meet what the market really needs,” she said. 

The panel concluded that enabling MSMEs to thrive demands a comprehensive, multi-year approach anchored in strong public-private partnerships. Through collaboration and digital innovation, Asean economies can help small businesses scale proven solutions to ensure the vitality and stability of the region’s economic ecosystem.

For more information, please visit www.gcash.com.