Singapore shells out $42m for SMEs' technology upgrade

How will this programme help SMEs?

A new S$42-million initiative has been launched to step up the collective adoption and innovative use of infocomm technology by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to boost productivity and drive business transformation in their respective sectors.

The Sectoral Productivity Call-for-Collaboration (CFC) is a multi-agency effort led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). Speaking at the Infocomm Commerce Conference organised by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in August, Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman, IDA, pointed out that SMEs stand a better chance of succeeding as a group. “Travelling in a pack, we can protect each other and learn from each other,” he said.

The CFC is one way in which IDA is helping SMEs to band together to make them stronger. In line with the National Productivity Agenda, and in collaboration with agencies such as SPRING Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board, as well as trade associations, the CFC seeks to invite proposals that are able to deliver sector-wide impact by aggregating demand, integrating supply chains or strengthening cross-sector collaborations amongst enterprises through the use of ICT.

Mr Leonard cited the example of the foreign employment sector, which has benefitted from an online registration system for foreign manpower. A process which used to involve filling up around 30 different forms has been reduced to one centralised system. With over 110,000 individual manpower-related transactions each year for the sector, this has helped dramatically reduce frustration and improve productivity, he said.

In the same vein, the new CFC seeks to find ways to improve productivity, enhance competitiveness and boost business growth in other sectors in Singapore. “The investment is material and important because it gives us the capability to support organisations in meaningful ways,” said Mr Leonard.

In the manufacturing sector, for example, where energy makes up about 13 per cent of operating costs, tests have shown that the use of sensor networks and analytics can enable businesses to be more efficient in their use of electricity. The next step would be to work with partners to make it happen in order to deliver tangible benefits to SMEs in the sector.

Collective infocomm adoption within the same sector will not only help to lower the cost of adoption as a result of economies of scale, but also raise the sector’s overall capability and productivity. At the same time, the innovative use of infocomm technology can also help an entire sector transform itself to become even more sustainable and resilient to changing landscape in the long term.

Some examples of sectors which could benefit from the CFC include Landscaping, Precision Engineering, Private Education, Early Childhood, Dental, Retail, Food & Beverage, Hotel, Travel, Attractions, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Waste management, Cleaning and Chemical Industry.

Reiterating IDA’s commitment to supporting SMEs, Mr Leonard said, “We want to make sure we do everything that we can to be effective partners. We want to do more than offer grants and support. We will roll up sleeves and work with you to deploy technology solutions. SMEs are important to Singapore, and they are important to IDA.”