This article was written in collaboration with BeamAndGo, the leading fintech platform for financial inclusion, education and management for Overseas Filipino Workers.

OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are modern-day Filipino heroes and are considered strong pillars of the Philippine economy.

In the latest report by the World Bank, the Philippines was the fourth largest remittance recipient in 2020 with a total amount of  $34.1 billion. These remittances from OFWs account for at least 9.2% of the country’s GDP, the second largest source of foreign capital, and a major source of private consumption within the country.

However, there is a social cost to this heroism.

On the average, OFWs are away from their families three times longer than they originally planned. This prolonged separation often disrupts their relationships with their family members. In some extreme cases, these remittances are spent on illegal vices leading to accumulated debts just to compensate for their irresponsible spending.

Thus, leaving OFWs with no choice but to leave the Philippines once again to provide for their daily needs. Unfortunately, this cycle continues for year— even decades for some families.

Beam and Go’s Mission

Since 2015, BeamAndGo has been aiming to close these gaps and solve these issues one step at a time.

This process begins with enabling and educating migrant workers, specifically OFWs, to achieve family resilience and financial security through a digital marketplace powered by fintech and an upskilling platform.

Aided by our products, tools, and services, over 290,000 OFWs can gain control of their finances, increase their financial capabilities, and possess entrepreneurial skills with continuing education and reseller programs, resulting in a successful repatriation back to the Philippines.

Modern Day Bayad Center

Throughout the years, OFWs have turned to BeamAndGo as an alternative to a physical remittance center, and it has slowly transformed into their “modern-bayad center.” The seamless cross border e-commerce platform allows OFWs to make purchases for their family back home, instead of simply sending cash. This ensures that their hard-earned money goes to where it’s intended, solving the problem of spending abuse. Most importantly, it ties the bond between OFWs and their families, making every member included in financial decisions despite the distance.

During the pandemic, BeamAndGo partnered up with SMEs and local brands to expand our product selection and offer door-to-door delivery of food, medicine, grocery, rice, and fresh goods, as well as health insurance plans, providing OFW families access to readily available medical attention in times of COVID and beyond.

Making a purchase is also made easier for unbanked OFWs with the continuing expansion of payment gateways across the world.

Financial Literacy for All

In 2021, BeamAndGo launched the BeamAndGo Academy – a series of free online financial literacy webinars where they invited advocates to speak and mentor OFWs community groups from Hong Kong and Singapore when it comes to savings, investment, budgeting, and making wise choices about their hard earned incomes.

This year, BeamAndGo also developed the BeAMillionaire Program that aims to help OFWs rebuild their lives affected by the pandemic, unleash their entrepreneurial skills, and provide them business opportunities by becoming a BeamAndGo reseller.

It also gives OFWs an extra leverage to reach their goals and aspirations within a shorter period. One testament of this is Sara Quesada’s BeAMillionaire journey wherein she banked her first million pesos through her earnings from the said program.

“A million pesos I earned from BeamAndGo, and a million thanks for being part of your reseller program,” she shared.

BeamAndGo values the sacrifices and contributions of every OFW. During these years, we heard their cries, we heard their stories. We have come to understand their hopes and dreams, their fears, their loneliness, and their desire to be back home with their families, and we are here to help them achieve family resiliency and financial security as they reach their next goals.