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

 Tech-enabled underwriting platform helps GCash expand its reach

 

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.

About Fuse Financing, Inc.

Fuse Financing, Inc. is a company that offers simple, affordable, and secure loans in the Philippines. Its primary goal is to enable individuals and small businesses to achieve financial security and growth through various digital lending products. Fuse Financing is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt, the first and only $5 billion unicorn in the Philippines. It’s also regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Mynt, through its fintech operations, is a staunch supporter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly UN SDGs 5,8,10, and 13, which focus on safety & security, financial inclusion, diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, respectively.

About GCash

GCash is the Philippines’ #1 Finance Super App and Largest Cashless Ecosystem. Through the GCash App, users can easily purchase prepaid airtime; pay bills via partner billers nationwide; send and receive money anywhere in the Philippines, even to other bank accounts; purchase from over 6 million partner merchants and social sellers; and get access to savings, credit, loans, insurance and invest money, and so much more, all at the convenience of their smartphones. Its mobile wallet operations are handled by G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mynt, the first and only $5 billion unicorn in the Philippines.

GCash is a staunch supporter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly UN SDGs 5,8,10, and 13, which focus on safety & security, financial inclusion, diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, respectively.