Onchain Financial Inclusion: How Builders Can Accelerate the Philippines' 2028 Vision
Last 2022, the Philippine government launched the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI 2022–2028) — a six-year roadmap aimed at bringing 90% of Filipinos into the formal financial system.
It’s a bold, ambitious plan centered around access to digital finance, MSME and agriculture financing, financial literacy, insurance, and social safety nets.
But while this is a massive step forward, there's an even bigger opportunity hiding beneath the surface —
The NSFI is not just about bank accounts. It's about building new financial rails for an emerging economy of 110 million people.
And Web3 — on-chain solutions, decentralized finance, tokenized identity, and digital communities — is perfectly positioned to build those rails faster, cheaper, and better than traditional finance ever could.
The NSFI: A Quick Overview
The Philippine government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022–2028 is structured around:
Digital Finance Expansion: Everyone should have a transaction account and access to e-payments.
MSME and Agriculture Financing: Unlock loans and capital for micro businesses and farmers.
Risk Protection and Social Safety Nets: Provide access to insurance, pensions, and disaster relief.
Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection: Teach millions how to navigate the financial world safely.
Targets by 2028:
90% of adult Filipinos to own a transaction account.
75% of borrowing done through formal channels.
Halve the disparities between rich and poor, men and women, urban and rural.
The Web3 Opportunity: Building the Onchain Financial Inclusion Layer
If we step back, what the Philippine government wants is a financial revolution.
But traditional rails (banks, telcos, cooperatives) move slowly.
Web3 builders can accelerate the NSFI vision by building directly onchain, leveraging blockchain primitives to solve old problems faster and more inclusively.
Key Areas Where Web3 Can Plug In
Why Web3 Builders Should Pay Attention Now
Clear Government Mandate:
The Philippine government wants mass digital financial inclusion.
Web3 builders aren’t fighting regulators — they’re aligning with national policy.Large Untapped User Base:
50+ million Filipinos are still outside traditional finance but inside mobile and internet ecosystems.
It’s the perfect target market for wallet adoption, digital savings, DeFi tools, and crypto rails.National Digital Identity Ready:
PhilSys, the Philippine national ID, is rolling out fast.
It can serve as the onchain KYC anchor to massively scale DeFi, wallets, and microfinance.High Mobile Internet Penetration:
76M+ active mobile users.
Filipinos already use apps daily — the transition to Web3-native apps is natural.Crypto-Native Culture:
The Philippines already has one of the highest crypto adoption rates globally (think: Axie Infinity).
Financial services onchain are the logical next step.
What Web3 Builders, Chains, and Ecosystems Can Create
Wallet infrastructure that ties to PhilSys while maintaining user sovereignty.
Stablecoin solutions for local savings, lending, and payment flows.
Decentralized credit scoring using mobile data, transaction histories, and community reputation.
Insurance DAOs offering disaster, crop, and health coverage for the unbanked.
MSME DeFi platforms allowing microentrepreneurs to borrow/invest at fair rates.
Onchain financial education apps — rewarded with token incentives.
DAO-governed social safety nets for communities vulnerable to typhoons, inflation, and job loss.
Why Chain Ecosystems Should Take This Seriously
If you're building an L1, L2, or app chain:
Partnering with local governments or MSME groups cements your chain as critical infrastructure.
The next billion users won't come from Silicon Valley — they'll come from the emerging economies solving real problems like those in the NSFI.
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization (farms, equipment, fisheries) will be a trillion-dollar market.
Building for the NSFI agenda makes your chain regulatory-friendly, impact-driven, and future-proof.
Final Thought: The NSFI is the Perfect Trojan Horse for Onchain Inclusion
Financial inclusion isn't charity — it's the next trillion-dollar market.
The Philippine government's NSFI gives Web3 the clearest green light imaginable:
Build better financial tools. Make them accessible. Make them trustworthy. Make them unstoppable.
If you're building in Web3 — and you’re serious about impact, growth, and adoption —
there is no greater opportunity today than plugging into national financial inclusion frameworks like the NSFI.
The onchain future won’t happen by accident.
It will be engineered — by those who see it first.
And it starts right here.