Through the Shopee International Platform (SIP), eligible micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can sell overseas more easily without building their international operations from the ground up, said Shopee Philippines corporate communications officer Ley Laksamana during Shopee Tam-Bai Cebu 2026 on June 27.
SIP allows sellers to list their products on Shopee’s overseas platforms and promote them to international buyers at no additional cost.
The program currently supports cross-border selling among the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.
"When our MSMEs dream big, we have to dream bigger for them," Laksamana said, adding that international expansion is the natural next step for Shopee sellers that have already established themselves in the domestic market.
Crossing borders
According to Shopee's latest report, The State of Digital MSMEs in VisMin: Growing Stronger in the Digital Economy, average orders per seller in the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) increased by 51 percent from 2023 to 2025.
The report also showed that total sales generated by VisMin sellers on Shopee grew by 24 percent during the period, with sellers in the Visayas alone posting 35-percent growth.
VisMin sellers served buyers in 81 of the country's 82 provinces in 2025, while more than one in three orders from the region were delivered to Luzon.
One of the longest-traveled parcels on record was shipped from Benguet in Northern Luzon to Zamboanga in Mindanao, crossing nearly the entire length of the Philippine archipelago.
Adopting digital tools
Digital capabilities played a key role in helping VisMin MSMEs attract more customers, increase sales and support business growth, as reflected in the rising number of sellers creating content through Shopee Video.
From 2024 to 2025, sales generated through Shopee Video surged by 209 percent, while the number of sellers producing video content increased 17-fold.
In 2025, sellers hosted 50 percent more livestreams than in 2023, while product checkouts during livestreams jumped by 159 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of affiliate-driven collaborations between sellers and content creators increased 29-fold, helping businesses expand their visibility and improve product discovery.
"So, it means more and more sellers are now actually engaging with creators, you know, (to promote) products, gain more visibility and exposure, and attract new markets," Laksamana said.
Seller enablement also improved as adoption of Shopee's Chat AI Assistant increased by 75 percent, allowing more merchants to respond to customer inquiries faster.
FBS service
Another Shopee service is also gaining traction among VisMin sellers.
Fulfilled by Shopee (FBS), Shopee's end-to-end warehousing and logistics solution that handles storage, packing, shipping and returns for sellers, expanded 14-fold during the period.
One entrepreneur who benefited from the service was Em Taclibon-Uy, a mother of two from Davao City who has been selling Filipino-made cast-iron cookware since 2023.
As a one-woman operation, Uy managed everything herself—from inventory and customer orders to packing and coordinating shipments.
However, handling heavy cast-iron products required meticulous, time-consuming packaging. Working alone, she could process only about five orders a day.
As demand increased, order fulfillment consumed most of her schedule, leaving little time for product sourcing, content creation and strategic business development.
She eventually enrolled in FBS, outsourcing her storage, packing, shipping and returns management to Shopee.
With FBS, she saved 14 hours each week, allowing her to focus on higher-value activities such as live selling, product sourcing and content marketing.
"One favorite thing she shared with me is that she is no longer scared to go on vacation," Laksamana said.
"We were able to take off that mental load so she can visit Luzon or the Visayas without worrying that her products would not be shipped while she was away."
Commitment
Shopee Philippines head Vincent Lee said the Visayas and Mindanao are playing an increasingly important role in the country's entrepreneurship and growth story as more MSMEs strengthen their capabilities and pursue opportunities nationwide.
"The progress we are seeing across Visayas and Mindanao reflects how far MSMEs have come in embracing digital commerce, but there remains a significant opportunity for growth," Lee said in a statement.
As more businesses strengthen their digital capabilities and expand their reach, Lee said Shopee remains committed to supporting entrepreneurs through continued investments in technology, seller tools and solutions that help them reach more customers across the Philippines.
"For businesses ready to take the next step, initiatives like the Shopee International Platform also create opportunities to connect with customers beyond our shores and bring more Filipino products to regional markets," he added. —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
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