GOH Address by SMS Low Yen Ling at SME Centre Conference 2024

Introductory Remarks

Mr Kho Choon Keng, President, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Mr Charles Ho Nai Chuen, Chairman, SME Centre @ Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

SME Business Leaders and Community

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. A very good morning to everyone. Thank you for the privilege of being with you, and a special thanks to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry for chairing this year’s organising committee.

2. When the idea of a SME Centre Conference was first mooted, the intent was to create a platform to catalyse important conversations between SME business leaders, industry experts, and representatives from the public and private sectors to better support and help SMEs address the pressing needs of today’s businesses. Embracing AI technologies is one of today’s most significant business needs. Effectively harnessing this trend requires the collective efforts of industry, Government, and the TACs. Therefore, this year’s theme chosen by the organisers is timely and apt.

3. Our 10 SME Centre locations in Singapore, supported by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and our Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) are pivotal in helping our SMEs grow, transform, and capture new opportunities. Their role is especially important in today’s increasingly competitive and dynamic business climate.

Evolution of SME Centres

4. Over the years, SME Centres have evolved in step with the changing needs of the SME business community. Through your feedback, we are always sussing out what are your needs, aspirations and challenges faced. We will then tweak our services and new programmes to be launched accordingly. Initially focused on raising awareness of available Government assistance, today, SME Centres provide business advisory services, co-organise capability-building workshops, and provide a range of facilitation services. They are truly a one-stop shop for SMEs seeking assistance with capability upgrading and business growth.

5. SME Centres also serve as a valuable bridge between the Government, SMEs, and key industry intermediaries, transforming their ongoing work into actionable insights. In total, we have 71 Business Advisors. They offer consultancy services to help companies navigate growth areas like financing, internationalisation, productivity, and HR. This enhances our business community’s collective ability to stay ahead of emerging trends.

The role of artificial intelligence

6. Today, the rise of Artificial Intelligence has fundamentally re-shaped how we gather, process, and transmit information. When used effectively in business, AI can result in significant productivity gains and increased output. One way to multiply your 24 hours, is to use GenAI. GenAI gives you another pair of hands and legs – it can help to automate and augment certain processes. According to a McKinsey estimate published in June last year, the latest advances in generative AI could add up to US$4.4 trillion to the global economy. This is roughly equivalent to the output of the world’s third largest economy.

7. AI presents a significant opportunity for our SMEs. It is not a technology that we can afford to observe from the sidelines. AI is here to stay and grow. I’m truly heartened that the organisers have chosen the theme “Unleashing the Potential of AI for Business Growth” for this year’s SME Centre Conference.

Government Support for SMEs to Harness AI

8. The Government is closely monitoring the development of AI. We are taking active steps to leverage the technology to establish Singapore as a nation of digitally empowered enterprises and workers. Last year, our then-DPM and now PM Lawrence Wong launched Singapore’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) 2.0, aimed at harnessing AI to uplift Singapore’s economic potential over the coming years.

9. Earlier this year, at the ATxEnterprise event, SMS Tan Kiat How launched the Digital Enterprise Blueprint. Under the blueprint, we are refreshing all industry digital plans to incorporate AI-enabled solutions; all pre-approved solutions under SMEs Go Digital will also be AI-enabled, where feasible. To this end, we aim to help at least 15,000 SMEs benefit from AI-enabled solutions in the next 2 years. We are taking the Whole-of-Government approach, especially MDDI and MTI working hand in hand, together with Enterprise Singapore and IMDA.

10. The Government cannot accomplish these ambitious plans without your continued support. While many SME businesses have captured benefits from the AI transformation, some continue to have concerns about its impact and implementation. We hear you. To help SMEs on their AI journey, the government launched three initiatives in the past year.

  a. One, the Generative AI (GenAI) Sandbox for SMEs programme. Launched by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and EnterpriseSG in February this year, the Sandbox has supported more than 150 companies over 3 months to adopt GenAI solutions in Marketing and Sales, and Customer Engagement. Early feedback has been very positive. Participating SMEs reported significant time and cost savings for tasks such as developing marketing campaign content and answering customer enquiries. This frees up your staff to support you in work such as business development, engaging customers and other higher value-add work. Following this successful Sandbox, I am happy to announce that GenAI solutions for Marketing & Sales and Customer Engagement will now be supported via the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG). From today, solution vendors can apply to become an IMDA Pre-approved vendor and list their GenAI solutions on PSG. This is an example of how the agencies and Ministries are not working in silo. We will work hand in hand with partner agencies to provide you better support to leverage AI to grow your businesses. By this year end, SMEs can look forward to adopting these solutions with up to 50% grant support. Looking ahead, IMDA is exploring new GenAI solutions for the next Sandbox. This will provide our SMEs with further opportunities to experiment before deploying these solutions on a larger scale.

b. Two, the Microsoft Copilot for SMEs programme. Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that enhances productivity across Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, and Outlook. Under the Copilot for SMEs programme, EnterpriseSG will support more than 1,000 SMEs in adopting Copilot, and subsidising license costs for a year. SMEs can also tap on workshops, resources, and events organised by Microsoft and AI Singapore, to learn how to use Copilot effectively. Over 500 companies have already registered interest. If you are interested, explore Copilot’s features and potential use cases at the Exhibition area today. Do take this opportunity to harness AI-powered productivity for your businesses. In today’s world where every country, every enterprise is looking for the right manpower, why not think about AI, as additional manpower? Make the first step to think about how to leverage the various AI tools, to double up and triple up your manpower.

c. Three, the Applied AI programme at IHLs. Beyond providing AI tools for SMEs, EnterpriseSG also supports companies looking for more sophisticated AI integration, where “off-the-shelf” solutions are not enough. Under the programme launched in May, EnterpriseSG partnered with Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic to build and deploy AI solutions customised to SME business needs. A 50% subsidy is provided for eligible SMEs to develop and adopt these customised AI solutions.

11. These are just the first steps of our path to leverage AI technologies. We will continue to journey alongside you as both Government and industry push the boundaries of this new technological frontier. To our SME community, thank you for sharing our ambitious vision. The Government and our key partners, the SME Centres, are with you every step of the way.

The Role of SME Centres

12. SME Centres will continue to be key business resource and advisory touchpoints. Over the past year, the 10 SME Centre locations island-wide have assisted more than 25,000 SMEs,  some already involving AI adoption. Let me give two examples.

a. Happy Fish Swim School: The SME Centre at the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry assisted Happy Fish Swim School in integrating Voltade’s GenAI solutions into their website. Voltade is a business software solutions provider that provides customised AI solutions for SMEs. Supported by the GenAI Sandbox programme, Happy Fish deployed a GenAI-powered customer chatbot to handle general enquiries more efficiently, saving more than 10 man-hours per week. Happy Fish is now embarking on another project with Voltade to overhaul its backend systems and organise its data, enabling it to minimise costs while scaling its business. This is a very wonderful example of how even with a lean team, if we can use AI wisely, it can double the team’s capacity.

b. Wistech Consulting: The SME Centre at the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) helped Wistech Consulting launch a data analytics project to improve its e-commerce solution, Qallix. As the number of e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee and Qoo10 continues to rise, sellers often face inefficiencies in managing multiple platforms. Qallix addresses this challenge by aggregating and processing data across these platforms to boost sellers’ efficiency and productivity. With support of SME Centre@SMF, the Qallix solution now has a refined AI model to generate better insights, making it easier for sellers to identify opportunities to enhance their marketing and sales efforts.

c. You can visit the booths of Happy Fish and Qallix at the Hibiscus Ballroom to learn more about their AI transformation journey. They are actually a very small company with a small team. We deliberately share these, to show you that no matter how small you are, you are never too small to leverage AI to grow your business.

13. We are committed to supporting our SMEs’ business growth. In 2020, we piloted the Partners for Business Growth (PBG) scheme which funds a one-year programme delivered by our SME Centres to help selected SMEs develop business growth plans. It also helps SMEs implement projects in productivity, sustainability, internationalisation, and AI. More than 250 companies have benefitted from the scheme so far.

14. I am pleased to announce that we are extending the PBG scheme to May 2025, to support another cohort of SMEs. Our BDAs will continue to provide valuable guidance, helping even more companies achieve their next phase of growth.

SME Centres @CDC

15. Finally, I wish to highlight the key role that our SME Centres play in the community. Since 2013, we have established satellite SME Centres in the five Community Development Councils (CDCs), located in convenient heartland locations. These centres not only save travel time for business owners, but also strengthen the connection between SMEs and the grassroots ecosystem by offering localised services tailored to their communities. For instance,

a. The SkillsFuture Advice (SFA) @CDC programme. Through the SFA@CDC programme, SME Centres@CDCs work with CDCs to host programmes, job fairs, career planning workshops, and industry-specific sessions designed to meet the needs of local residents. These activities help residents navigate the SkillsFuture landscape, identify their strengths, and stay informed about current and future job demands.

b. This is very relevant to SMEs. Fortunately, we started this 11 years ago. It has helped the SMEs to forge a strong nexus with the various CDCs. By conducting the job fair within the community, it allows our SMEs and smaller companies to directly hire their staff, so that their jobs are nearby, within each precinct and district. This is a win-win-win, for the residents as employees, and the SMEs as employers.

16. Another example is the CDC vouchers. The SME Centres are also working very closely with the 5 CDCs to onboard the participating heartland shops and hawkers for the CDC Vouchers Scheme, since two and a half years ago. In the past, when speaking to the heartland shops, it may not be as easy to persuade them to adopt e-payment or come onboard online platforms. However, in the last two and a half years, because of the collective efforts, it has really catalysed our SMEs and heartland shops’ adoption of digital tools.

17. It has been slightly more than a month since DPM Gan Kim Yong launched the CDC vouchers. I am happy to update that as of today, more than 1.143 million Singaporean households have claimed the fifth tranche of CDC vouchers, where each Singaporean household can claim $300. 1.143 million represents 86 per cent of Singaporean households. I am happy to also update that in just slightly more than a month, $147 million of CDC vouchers have been spent for the fifth tranche. Out of this $147 million, I am also delighted to share that $64 million of CDC vouchers have been spent at our participating heartland shops and hawkers, with the remaining $83 million of CDC vouchers being spent at participating supermarkets.

18. Seven months ago, on 3 Jan 2024, PM Lawrence Wong launched the fourth tranche of CDC vouchers, where each Singaporean household can claim $500 of CDC vouchers. I am happy to update that for the fourth tranche of CDC vouchers, 1.28 million Singaporean households have claimed the CDC vouchers. More than 97 per cent of Singaporean households have claimed the fourth tranche. I am also glad to update that as far as the fourth tranche of CDC vouchers is concerned, more than $559 million of CDC vouchers have been spent. Out of this $559 million, $268 million have been spent at participating heartland shops and hawkers. The remaining $291 million were spent at participating supermarkets.

19. If I add the $64 million and $268 million, you will realise that within seven months, the fourth and fifth tranche of CDC vouchers have catalysed more than $332 million of CDC vouchers spending at participating heartland shops and hawkers.

20. This is another example of how collectively, not just the Government, but also through working with the TACs and satellite SME Centres@CDCs, and with all of you, to use a programme like the CDCs to catalyse spending at the heartland shops. In so doing, to also help them adopt more digital platforms and future-proof themselves.

21. Given the strong support from and for community SME Centres, I am pleased to announce that we will be renewing our partnership with the CDCs. This will ensure that SMEs and community stakeholders can continue to benefit from the extensive resources and support services available at SME Centres@CDCs. I trust these services will continue to meet your business needs, and help you grow.

Conclusion

22. Events like today’s conference offer valuable opportunities for our SME community to interact and exchange insights. Thank you participants, for contributing your views to today’s important discussion on AI. I encourage you to participate actively, network, forge connections, and share best practices. Together, we can harness and unleash the potential of AI for business growth, and forge a strong, dynamic, and digital future for Singapore.

23. Thank you.