Singtel offers more support to accelerate AI adoption among Singapore SMEs

- New programme to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) move from AI experimentation to real-world implementation 

Source: Singtel. An AI.dea training scenario.

Singtel Singapore has launched AI.dea — an AI business transformation programme, developed in partnership with SIM Academy to help SMEs in Singapore accelerate AI adoption and unlock new opportunities for productivity, innovation and growth.

As AI moves from experimentation to real-world deployment, many businesses continue to grapple with the complexities of implementation, Singtel said, observing that while AI has proven to be a powerful driver of productivity and growth, adoption among Singapore SMEs remains relatively low.

While digital adoption among SMEs in Singapore has grown significantly in recent years, Singtel said that many businesses continue to face challenges in fully realising value from new technologies, particularly in complex areas such as AI.  

According to the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA's) Singapore Digital Economy Report 2025*, only 14.5% of SMEs have implemented AI solutions, compared to 62.5% of larger enterprises — a wide competitive gap.  

AI.dea aims to address this gap by making AI accessible, practical and secure for local businesses. The programme will equip SMEs with the capabilities to integrate AI into their operations and compete more effectively in an increasingly digital economy. To boost adoption, eligible SMEs will receive up to 90% in funding from SkillsFuture Singapore.  

Ng Tian Chong, CEO of Singtel Singapore, said, “AI has quickly become a key driver of business transformation, but many organisations are still figuring out where to even begin. Singtel Singapore’s own journey has shown that success with AI requires more than just technology — it takes the right capabilities, governance and mindset. 

"With AI.dea, we are bringing these lessons to SMEs, helping them to adopt AI applications before committing to full-scale deployment so they can realise tangible business outcomes.”   

Ho Seong Kim, CEO of SIM Academy added: “As Singapore advances its National AI Strategy, SMEs — the foundation of our business ecosystem — must be equipped to participate meaningfully in this transformation. As the selected learning partner for this programme, we leverage our expertise in applied, outcome-driven learning to help SME leaders build in-house capabilities, develop actionable adoption strategies, and implement AI with confidence to drive tangible business outcomes.” 

AI.dea is designed to help SMEs overcome common barriers to adoption, including limited in-house expertise, uncertainty around implementation, and concerns around data security and governance.

Through a structured, hands-on approach, participants will design, build and validate real-world use cases tailored to their business needs.

Participants will benefit from:

· Hands-on application: Design and test AI use cases through guided proof-of-concept development

· Expert guidance: Learn from practitioners with experience in scaling AI across organisations

· Governance and security: Build capabilities in AI governance, data protection and risk management

· Strategic roadmap development: Define AI ambition and develop a clear, actionable adoption plan

Advancing SME digital transformation 

The AI.dea programme complements Singtel’s broader suite of SME-focused initiatives:

· TikTok Masterclass: A brand-building and e-commerce enablement programme that helps SMEs to strengthen their digital presence, connect with customers more effectively, and capture growth opportunities in the digital economy.

· Cyber Protect: A tripartite initiative by Singtel, Enterprise Singapore and IMDA to bolster SMEs’ cyber resilience through workshops, curated learning resources, and subsidised cyber solutions, enabling businesses to identify risks, adopt stronger cyber hygiene practices and better protect themselves against evolving cyber threats.

· Cyber Elevate: A training programme which provides cyber risk audits, resilience workshops, and mentorship to help SMEs prepare, detect, respond to, and recover from cyberattacks at heavily-subsidised rates, with support from law firm Drew & Napier and incident response firm Blackpanda as consultants.

· Defence Against Cyber Scams: Developed for large enterprises to upskill and reskill their employees to be better able to identify, combat and prevent scams.

· SPEED: A 15-month initiative aimed at helping SMEs decarbonise through education, energy-efficient technology deployment and continuous improvement strategies. The programme is designed to enable SMEs to go digital and achieve environmental goals at the same time.

As a SkillsFuture Queen Bee, Singtel plays a pivotal role in enabling enterprises – especially SMEs – to upskill, digitalise and innovate. Its end-to-end solutions – spanning mobility and connectivity, to cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT) and collaboration tools – are tailored to evolving business needs. 

Details

The programme fee is S$15,000 (before GST), with up to 90% funding available for eligible businesses under the Enhanced Training Support for SMEs programme, supported by SkillsFuture Singapore.

To qualify, companies must:

· Be registered and incorporated in Singapore

· Have at least 30% local shareholding by Singapore citizens or permanent residents (PRs) 

· Have an annual sales turnover not exceeding S$100 million or an employment size of fewer than 200 employees

Businesses interested in the programme can register their interest at https://www.singtel.com/business/smb/solutions/ICT/ai-dea

*Singapore Digital Economy Report (SGDE) 2025

Lalamove: Singapore SMEs challenged by high logistics costs and operational pressures in 2026

Lalamove, the on-demand delivery platform, has revealed that high logistics costs remain one of the top concerns for Singapore businesses. More than 43% of surveyed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) indicated that rising logistics expenses are top of mind for the coming year.

The survey also revealed that expectations for delivery volumes in 2026 are modest. Over a third (36%) of SMEs believe their delivery volume will remain unchanged next year, while 27% expect a slight increase of up to 20%. Only 10% anticipate a stronger rise of more than 20%, reflecting a generally cautious outlook on business growth.

Conducted between September and November 2025 with more than 900 SME respondents, the survey found mixed views on Singapore’s overall business environment in the year ahead. Nearly three in 10 (28%) SMEs said they feel cautious, 25% expressed uncertainty or pessimism, 27% reported feeling optimistic about the outlook, while the remaining 20% indicated no change in sentiment.

As operating costs continue to rise across sectors, SMEs are becoming increasingly selective when choosing logistics partners. When respondents were asked about the most important factors in selecting an on-demand delivery platform, 55% named affordable pricing as their top priority. Another 50% said that safe delivery with no damage is the most important consideration. This was followed by 38% who identified delivery speed as their top deciding factor.

These findings suggest that SMEs are prioritising practical and cost-efficient delivery options, reflecting the broader economic sentiment of cautious spending and the need to manage business expenses more tightly, Lalamove said.

The survey highlighted several pressing challenges that SMEs expect to face in the next 12 months. Over four in 10 (43%) respondents pointed to high logistics costs, 42% cited rising rental expenses, and 38% expressed concern over lower consumer spending.

At the same time, SMEs are also experiencing greater pressure to meet rising customer expectations. Over half of the respondents shared that their customers are now demanding faster delivery compared to last year, adding another layer of operational pressure on businesses.

According to Lalamove, these combined challenges underscore the need for logistics solutions that offer affordability, reliability and speed, three factors that SMEs increasingly see as essential in their day-to-day operations.

When asked about the types of vehicles they typically rely on for deliveries, SMEs showed a balanced mix of preferences. Over a third (36%) said they frequently use motorcycles, while 32% reported using cars. Another 32% rely on vans and lorries. This distribution highlights the diverse nature of SME demand, showing that Singapore businesses depend on delivery solutions ranging from small item transport to larger, bulkier goods fulfillment.

Alex Lin, MD of Lalamove Singapore, said: “Our survey findings reflect both the resilience and the challenges faced by SMEs today. Businesses are under pressure from rising costs while meeting increasing customer expectations for speed and reliability. At Lalamove, we remain committed to supporting them with cost effective, flexible logistics solutions that help them stay agile and competitive. By continuously improving our services and staying close to the needs of our users, we aim to be a trusted partner for SMEs across every stage of their growth."

Singtel launches TikTok masterclass for SMEs

Singtel has launched a TikTok masterclass – a brand-building and e-commerce enablement programme, aimed at helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) strengthen their digital presence, connect with customers more effectively, and capture growth opportunities in the digital economy.

Developed in partnership with SIM Academy, the masterclass will equip local enterprises with practical skills to create impactful content, leverage social platforms for business growth, and navigate the opportunities and risks of social commerce. The initiative is supported by SkillsFuture Singapore. Eligible participants from qualifying SMEs can get up to 90% funding for this programme.

Participants will receive hands-on training in content creation, livestream selling, e-commerce activation and cybersecurity – critical capabilities in today’s fast-evolving, mobile-first marketplace. Participants will also benefit from post-workshop support, including engagement with retail merchants to aid e-commerce transition and potential co-marketing opportunities.

Ng Tian Chong, CEO of Singtel Singapore, said, “With Asia’s young, mobile-first population and growing appetite for social commerce, it’s vital that our SMEs are equipped with smarter, faster ways to reach their customers. Singtel is proud to provide SMEs with the digital tools, platforms and training to grow and compete in today’s connected world. Our new TikTok Masterclass is the latest in our series of efforts to help SMEs achieve more in the digital economy."

Ho Seong Kim, CEO of SIM Academy added: “At SIM Academy, we focus on delivering applied, outcome-driven learning through learner-centric course design. The TikTok Masterclass reflects our commitment to equipping businesses with practical skills for their business outcomes in today’s fast-changing digital economy.”

The three-day TikTok Masterclass includes three key components: 

• Training: Learn content creation, TikTok shop setup, and social selling techniques tailored for business growth on social platforms. 

• Application: Gain practical, hands-on experience at Singtel’s TikTok Creator House, located at its 313@Somerset flagship store. Participants will get two hours’ complimentary use of the professional-grade studio to create and livestream content in a simulated selling environment. 

• Cyber awareness: Develop an understanding of cybersecurity best practices for digital marketing and TikTok, to ensure safe and responsible online engagement. 

As of 2023, 82% of SMEs in Singapore had adopted at least one digital solution, with 91% having started their digital journey – leading the Asia Pacific region. Despite this progress, fewer than half report fully successful implementation, underscoring the need for continued guidance and support.

This masterclass is part of Singtel’s commitment to help SMEs digitalise, innovate and grow. In September 2023, Singtel introduced Cyber Elevate to help businesses bolster their cyber resilience, followed by the SPEED programme in April 2025, which supports SMEs in digitalising their operations and aligning them with sustainability goals.

As a SkillsFuture Queen Bee, Singtel plays a pivotal role in enabling enterprises – especially SMEs – to upskill, digitalise and innovate. Its end-to-end solutions – spanning mobility and connectivity, to cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT) and collaboration tools – are tailored to evolving business needs, helping SMEs scale sustainably. 

Details

The programme fee is S$3,000 per participant (before GST), with up to 90% funding available for eligible businesses under the Enhanced Training Support for SMEs programme, supported by SkillsFuture Singapore. To qualify, companies must meet the following requirements: 

• Be registered and incorporated in Singapore 

• Have a minimum 30% local shareholding by Singapore citizens or PRs 

• Have an annual sales turnover of not more than S$100 M or employment size of fewer than 200 employees 

Singtel plans to conduct 24 masterclasses over two years, with each class accommodating approximately 15 SMEs. Businesses interested in the programme can register their interest at https://www.singtel.com/business/smb/solutions/tiktok-masterclass

Singapore SMBs stay focused on growth despite rising costs and uncertainty: Xero

 

Despite a challenging operating environment, Singapore’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) remain resilient and focused on growth through digitalisation, according to a new report by global small business platform Xero.

Polling over 500 owners and senior decision-makers from SMBs in Singapore, the report found that six in 10 (61%) have been impacted by inflation and rising costs, alongside changes in consumer demand (48%) and labour shortages (44%).

Despite this, Singapore’s SMBs continued to grow, with nearly two-thirds (63%) reporting revenue growth and 77% reporting wage increases over the past year. Nearly half (47%) increased headcount within the business, primarily to support business growth (69%). Crucially, 76% of business owners said they feel optimistic about the future.

"It’s exciting to see such strong optimism and momentum among Singapore’s SMBs, especially in a tough economic climate. Their continued investment in people and technology shows just how focused they are on building for the future,” said Koren Wines, MD, Xero Asia.

“That said, as businesses continue to scale and grow, it’s important to recognise that many still face operational barriers that can slow progress—whether it’s managing cash flow, accessing real-time financial insights, or juggling fragmented systems. Addressing these pain points and building stronger digital foundations will be key to unlocking greater efficiency, agility, and long-term success."

The report also identified common operational challenges they will need to overcome, such as strained cash flow from delayed payments.

91% of Singaporean SMBs said late payments from customers have impacted their business. When polled on typical payment timelines, nearly a fifth (18%) of businesses said they received payments from customers in an average of 31-45 days, with timelines stretching to 46-60 days for 7% of businesses surveyed. 

To increase the likelihood of timely payments, many SMBs have started strengthening credit terms (53%), charging late fees (47%), and even offering discounts to incentivise early payments (43%) in a bid to keep cash moving.

According to the research, many SMBs still struggle with establishing long-term, real-time visibility on their business’ finances. Eight in 10 (81%) Singaporean SMBs recognise the importance of customisable financial reports that contain insights that may be useful for regulatory compliance and strategic decision-making. However, around half cite a lack of real-time access to financial data (52%) and difficulty consolidating information from multiple sources (49%) as key barriers to developing them.

Source: Xero, The State of Small and Medium Businesses - Singapore 2025. Average customer repayment timeframe.

To overcome these operational challenges and support growth, Singaporean SMBs are actively using digital tools such as digital marketing platforms (56%), customer relationship management systems (54%) and cloud-based accounting or finance software (42%).

Almost all (99%) believe digital tools are essential to their business, while 82% cited digital adoption as a top or significant business priority. A further 99% said they were comfortable experimenting with or implementing new technologies, with the ability to generate better reports (51%), enhanced decision-making (46%), and automation of repetitive tasks (46%) topping the list of motivations driving adoption.

Said Wines: “Singaporean SMBs have shown a strong appetite for digitalisation—not just as a means to keep up, but as a deliberate strategy to drive growth and resilience. They increasingly understand that digital tools are not simply operational add-ons, but enablers that can transform the way they manage cash flow, streamline processes, unlock opportunities and respond to evolving market demands.”

“By adopting the right technologies, small businesses can gain deeper financial visibility, make faster, data-driven decisions, and build the agility needed to thrive amid uncertainty. This shift isn’t just about staying compliant—it’s about becoming future-ready.”

Explore

Download The State of Small and Medium Businesses - Singapore 2025 at https://brandfolder.xero.com/NE531UQB/as/3fxggcx7bk96gxs5tpxwfrh/Final_State_of_Small_and_Medium_Businesses_-_Singapore_2025

Cornerstone unveils cyber insurance for Singapore SMBs with QBE and ESET

Cornerstone, a Singapore-based independent financial advisory, has launched CyberFender, a cyber insurance solution tailored to small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in Singapore. 

CyberFender offers insurance coverage that will help to safeguard critical business assets against malicious actors in areas like data security, business interruption, and cyber extortion. It also covers related incident response and recovery costs, providing both financial and operational protection against cyber incidents—empowering businesses to better build and maintain customer trust, Cornerstone said. 

Underwritten by QBE, a global insurer with a presence in Singapore for more than 130 years, CyberFender policyholders will also receive 24x7 cybersecurity protection through ESET Small Business Security, which is a set-and-protect solution against online threats, frauds, data theft and unwanted tracking. 

Cornerstone can guide and support SMEs throughout the process, serving as trusted advisors who simplify, facilitate, and ensure a seamless download and understanding of key information. 

SMBs make up 99% of all enterprises in Singapore and are responsible for nearly half of the nation’s GDP. As they embrace digital transformation, robust cybersecurity measures are essential to maintain customer trust and ensure a resilient business environment. Cyber insurance has emerged as a vital safety net, helping SMBs to mitigate the financial risks of cyber incidents while reinforcing confidence in data security.

ESET’s APAC SMB Cybersecurity Report 2024 found that 73% of Asia Pacific (APAC) SMBs experienced cybersecurity incidents last year—with one out of four incidents related to ransomware, while Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) findings from 2024 estimated that eight in 10 organisations in Singapore encountered a cybersecurity incident in a year, with half encountering it several times a year. 

QBE Singapore’s small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) survey further showed that the percentage of businesses that do not have any processes or protection against cyber risks rose to 19% in 2024, from 9% in 2023.

“At Cornerstone, we recognise that recovery from cyberattacks can be costly and challenging for SMBs. This is why we partnered with QBE and ESET to deliver robust, easy-to-use cyberdefence solutions to our policyholders through CyberFender,” said Leonard Tan, MD, Cornerstone.

“No industry is insulated from cyberthreats, regardless of company size. As technology evolves, it’s creating both new opportunities and new risks, further expanding the digital attack surface. Together with Cornerstone and ESET, we are delighted to be a part of the CyberFender offering, which is well suited to address SMBs’ needs when it comes to the current cyber risk landscape,” said Ronak Shah, CEO, QBE Singapore.

“ESET is committed to empowering SMBs with the right tools to proactively protect their businesses from cyber threats, including ransomware. By adopting a prevention-first approach, business owners can effectively safeguard their organisations from the risk of cyberattacks and disruption. We are honoured that Cornerstone and QBE have chosen to work with ESET; it is a testament to our commitment to ensure businesses of all sizes are safeguarded in an ever-evolving threat landscape,” said Parvinder Walia, ESET President for Asia Pacific and Japan.

CyberFender is available in Singapore through Cornerstone's financial advisors.

Swag employment superapp aims to help SMEs, job seekers in Singapore and Malaysia

HR, payroll, and employee engagement platform Employment Hero aims to reinvent the employment relationship with its employment superapp, Swag.

Employment Hero has been digitising employment for SMEs by creating a platform that gives employers confidence in the accuracy, compliance, and transparency of their HR and payroll processes. It is now tackling the employee side of the equation: making the traditionally tedious (and discouraging) task of job hunting better.

Swag has artificial intelligence (AI)-powered recruitment functionality designed to streamline the job search for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and jobseekers, making the finding, onboarding, and rewarding of talent easier. This is complemented by Employment Hero's network of 200,000+ employers and 1 M+ employees.

According to Employment Hero, there are two massive issues in today’s employment landscape:

Expectations of a global recession and slower growth in Malaysia/ Singapore have driven up SMEs' overheads, making it harder for them to operate and expand. Most SMEs lack the number of skilled and qualified staff needed for better productivity and future growth. And when they do have experienced staff on the books, retaining these employees is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s volatile job market.

At the same time, skyrocketing cost-of-living is taking a toll on Malaysian and Singaporean employees. Employment Hero’s recent 2023 Talent Insights Report found that 92% of Malaysian employees are career cushioning*, with nearly half (45%) feeling that their salaries are not catching up to inflation rates. Meanwhile, the survey reported that only 51% of Singaporean respondents felt secure in their roles, the lowest among all countries surveyed, and 49% of respondents were looking externally for new job opportunities.

Swag proactively addresses these pain points by empowering employers to streamline key parts of the recruiting process, including:

● Using the power of AI to produce first-draft job descriptions

● Using AI to predict a business’ future hiring needs

● Matching eligible candidates with suitable roles

● Posting jobs to hundreds of popular job boards in a few clicks.

Swag also features a job board called Swag Jobs which gives SMEs free access to a pool of hundreds of thousands of work-ready applicants - with no job posting or advertising costs. In a time where job board advertising fees have skyrocketed, Swag gives SMEs the tools to get their jobs in front of the best candidates whatever their budget.

Once employed, Swag becomes the primary interface for all work-related tasks, including time and attendance management, leave tracking, and rostering. Swag’s Work features allow employees to reduce onboarding administration and common HR inefficiencies by keeping timesheets, payslips, leave requests, induction policies, and certifications within one central location. Swag also promotes reward and recognition initiatives such as peer shoutouts and accredited personal achievements within the business.

Swag also does the heavy lifting for employees throughout the job search process, including:

● Using AI to produce first-draft cover letters

● AI-powered job suggestions based on a candidate’s profile and skills

● One-click ‘apply’ functionality to apply in seconds

● Automatic CV and resume parsing to avoid manual data entry

Ben Thompson, Co-founder and CEO of Employment Hero, said: “We are rapidly adding new features that will match candidates with a job before it’s even posted - and faster than the job boards can. In the next 12 months, we plan to replace even more manual tasks with AI, further streamlining the process and freeing up people’s time to focus on what they do best.

“Through AI and applications like Swag, the entire recruitment process can be streamlined and personalised. We developed Swag to help employers stand out in a competitive hiring market and to help jobseekers cut down on manual tasks such as sifting through open roles and writing up time-consuming cover letters.

“While AI serves as an assistant in the hiring process for both employers and employees, it by no means replaces the human elements of recruiting. Rather than automating every interaction, Swag streamlines the manual, tedious aspects of the hiring process, such as writing job descriptions, finding promising candidates, sorting through swathes of unsuitable applicants while enhancing the personal parts, from discovering your next great hire and speaking 1:1 with interested applicants, to forming meaningful relationships with talent for future recruitment. With more time back in the day, SMEs can focus on growing their business and finding the best people in the market to do so,” he said.

Swag’s Career feature gives jobseekers access to a free jobs board - Swag Jobs, where they can create a digital employment passport and view thousands of job ads across multiple industries. Once a candidate has applied for a role, they can access an interactive, real-time messaging function between themselves and hiring managers, keeping jobseekers in the loop at every stage of the hiring journey - whether they’re successful or not.

“The Swag superapp can engage the candidate with the employer in a much more interactive, authentic way. You get direct messaging between the hiring manager and the candidate through the interview and recruitment phase, then Swag becomes the onboarding tool to bring that employee into the business, it becomes the tool to manage work, and then it's how you get paid and how you save and spend,” said Thompson.

“Put all that together and you've got a unique value proposition for candidates to find and apply for jobs, to be recruited, onboarded, manage their work, and then access benefits and perks that make the most of their pay.”

*Career cushioning refers to cushioning the blow of a possible job loss with a backup plan. The cushioning could take place through looking for other jobs, building up new skillsets, and freelance work.

Xero deep-dives into the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses

Xero, the global small business platform, has released two reports highlighting the economic and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses across around the world.

Source: Xero's Emotional metrics: small business mindsets during the pandemic report. The mindsets of small business owners from January to August 2020 ranged from feeling "worn down" to a sense of loss.

The Xero Small Business Insights (SBI) Special Report, Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience, was produced with AlphaBeta (part of Accenture), and based on anonymised and aggregated records of over 300,000 Xero subscribers. It shows the impact on small business revenues and jobs in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In North America and Asia, these insights are supported by survey-based customer research.

● Following the March lockdown New Zealand experienced the largest revenue fall of 40%, but has since seen recovery

● At peak, Australian small businesses had the largest job losses, at 12%

● Manufacturing is leading recovery in New Zealand and Australia with revenue growth of between 1% and 13%

● Small business was twice as badly hit as big business

● Tech-enabled businesses generally saw 40% fewer job losses

"Being able to quickly provide insights of this scale, with country comparisons, provides better understanding as to how the small business recovery can be supported around the world," said Steve Vamos, CEO, Xero.

“Small business is family and community. It’s a big source of growth and innovation in economies and they are doing it tough right now.”

Xero’s second report, Emotional metrics: small business mindsets during the pandemic, focuses on the human impact of the crisis with research in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, North America and Singapore. The nature of small business means owners often have close personal-level relationships with their staff and customers. The upheaval caused by a pandemic has economic consequences for small business owners, and presents challenges managing the human impacts, Xero said.

The research finds that 43% of small business owners in these countries are worried about their own mental health, and 39% are worried about the mental health of their employees. Analysis from a sentiment measurement tool, Mindset AI*, also shows the predominant emotion of small businesses is one of being “worn down”.

"We have found several Xero small business customers who survived the Spanish Flu of 1918 and are still operating today, including a winery in South Australia and a pie and eel shop in London," said Vamos.

"It is incredible to think that these businesses have already survived a global pandemic, along with many other major economic disruptions since, and are still trading during this latest crisis. We are in awe of their resilience,” he said.

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform for small businesses with 2.38 million subscribers globally. Xero offers an ecosystem of over 800 third-party apps and 200+ connections to banks and other financial partners. The Xero Small Business Insights (SBI) programme provides analysis on the sector’s health, with its metrics based on anonymised, aggregated data drawn from hundreds of thousands of Xero subscribers. The result is a picture of business conditions that’s more accurate than most private surveys, which typically have a far smaller sample size, Xero said.

Details:

Read the Pandemic Insights: Small Business Experience report

Read the Emotional metrics: small business mindsets during the pandemic report.

*Mindset AI Study, PepperComm, August 2020. Mindset.AI, operated by integrated marketing and communications firm Peppercomm, analyses millions of public conversations drawn from thousands of varied sources across the Internet using advanced artificial intelligence designed to research crisis-focused emotional states.

APAC SMEs have embraced remote work: SAP

SAP has unveiled findings for Digital Resilient, and Experience-driven: How Small and Midsize Organisations Can Prepare for the New Economy, a study* that highlights how small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia-Pacific (APAC) are uniquely positioned to adapt and thrive in the dynamic and distributed post-COVID-19 business environment.

Conducted in collaboration with Oxford Economics, the study also delved into the priorities, challenges, and digital maturity of SMEs in the Americas, Europe, and APAC. A section detailing answers from 240 respondents on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was also added to the survey mid-fieldwork.

According to the 240 that responded to the series of COVID-19 questions, APAC SMEs are well-positioned to adapt to a remote working environment by taking swift actions to implement and adjust remote work arrangements for employees in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-seven percent reported that they adjusted remote work arrangements for employees in response to COVID-19, as compared to lower numbers from Europe (75% of respondents) and the Americas (71%).

Additionally, 61% of APAC SMEs surveyed created remote work setups for employees during this period, while 69% invested in IT and collaboration solutions to support remote access and/or online learning. Interestingly, 10% of APAC SMEs reported that the pandemic has no impact on their ability to accommodate remote work and maintain employee productivity.

On top of supporting business continuity during this period, many APAC SMEs are also actively exploring new channels to get their products and services to customers (66%, vs. 64% in the Americas and 59% in Europe) and developing new products and service offerings (46%, vs. 40% in the Americas and 49% in Europe).

Singapore respondents said that their top reactions to COVID-19 were:

- Adjusted remote work arrangements for employees (73%) and invested in IT and collaboration solutions for remote access or/and online learning (73%)

- Explored new channels to get product/service offerings to customers (68%) and explored new ways to meet supply chain demands (68%)

The most impacted areas of business operations and strategies for Singapore organisations, defined as 'significant impact' or 'completely restructure operations/strategies', included:

- Ability to meet customer demands (55%) and ability to win new business (55%)

- Ability to operate at full capacity (45%)

Conversely, the business operations and strategies which saw 'minimal effect' or 'moderate effect' in Singapore included:

- Ability to accommodate remote work and maintain employee productivity (55%). COVID-19 did not affect the remote working abilities of 14% of SMEs in Singapore.

- Ability to manage cash flow and liquidity (45%)

Before COVID-19, Singapore SMEs had said their top strategic priority over the next three years was: 

- Growth (43%)

- Customer experience (38%), an ideal experience being defined as high-quality products and/or services (77%) and competitive pricing (74%)

Their challenges pre-COVID include:

- Lack of coordination between different departments (32%)

- Upskilling/reskilling their current workforce (31%)

- Competition from larger organisations (46%)

- Keeping up with changing customer wants and needs (42%)

A further 46% in Singapore said data storage, collection and analysis would be a problem as they grow.

“SMEs across the region—like their counterparts around the world—have certain advantages over larger competitors in terms of agility and closeness to the customer,” said Edward Cone, Editorial Director of Thought Leadership and Technology Practice Lead at Oxford Economics.

“Yet even before the pandemic, SMEs in APAC also faced meaningful challenges in keeping up the pace of digital transformation.”

Lastly, it was revealed that COVID-19 has significantly impacted APAC SMEs’ ability to compete with larger companies within the same industry, with 45% of APAC SMEs reporting that the pandemic has had a significant effect on their operations and strategies in this area. COVID-19 has also affected the ability to operate at full capacity (45%), the ability of the supply chains to keep up with demands (40%), and the ability to keep existing customers (40%). Some respondents reported that they had to completely restructure business strategy and operations in these areas to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, SMEs in the region reported being optimistic about their long-term prospects. Many APAC SMEs expect that over the next three years, their market share (62%), budget/revenue (76%), number of full-time employees (59%), and profitability (78%) will increase 'somewhat' or 'substantially'.

Looking ahead to the next three years, APAC SMEs are prioritising improving the customer experience (40%), growth (38%) and attracting new customers (28%). APAC SMEs believe that the key to providing high-quality customer experience lies in high-quality products and/or services (70%), fast and convenient delivery (64%) and competitive pricing (62%), with the customer-service business function bearing the most responsibility for delivering those experiences (cited by 70% of APAC respondents).

Upgrading analytics on customer data is viewed as a go-to strategy to improving customer experience: 28% already have done this across the organisation, and 52% have started to.

With technology set to play an increasingly critical role in helping APAC SMEs achieve business success in the new digital environment, the study also took a closer look at digital maturity levels of these businesses across the region.

APAC SMEs say they have made moderate progress toward digital transformation (39%), and 21% have made substantial progress or completely transformed; within three years, 19% expect to have completely transformed. Their biggest IT functions challenges as the organisation grows are 24x7 service availability (55%) and cybersecurity (51%).

In terms of technological adoption, HR/talent management software is furthest along (66%), followed by governance and cybersecurity software (63%), then finance and risk management software (59%). Respondents reported that these technologies are either in use in some applications/projects or are already in use at scale.

Mobile devices and mobile business process enablement, and business management solutions (enterprise resource planning or ERP software) share the top spot in terms of pilot implementation, and APAC SMEs are actively considering emerging technologies, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and the Internet of Things (IoT) as their main investment priorities. 
 
When it comes to automation investment, the majority of SMEs are already using automation in some applications/projects (36%). The top business functions that see major or substantial investment in terms of automation and digital processes in APAC are:

- Customer service (56%)

- Enterprise management/operations (48%)

APAC SMEs further consider the top benefits of automation and digital technologies to be:

- Increasing process efficiency by reducing error, risk and cost (44%)

- Increasing productivity through transformation and intelligence process automation (43%)

The road to success does, however, bring challenges, SAP said. Today, APAC SMEs consider the upskilling/reskilling of the current workforce (30%), lack of coordination between different departments (29%), and inability to gain insights from data (28%) as key internal challenges.

In terms of external challenges, APAC SMEs cite changing customer wants and needs (40%), competition from larger organisations (39%), and adapting to a rapidly-changing marketplace (27%) as obstacles to their business success.

Source: SAP. Andresen.

“Today’s new normal requires businesses to pivot and adapt with speed. SMEs in the region seem to understand that the sense of urgency to digitally transform their businesses will give them an advantage through the pandemic and beyond,” said Claus Andresen, SVP & Head of General Business (SME) and Emerging Markets Growth, Asia Pacific & Japan.

“With the adoption of an intelligent enterprise strategy, SMEs can establish a digital core that will power the entire organisation, embedding data-driven insights and decision-making processes across the business. This is crucial in enabling business agility, further strengthening the ability of SMEs to adapt to dynamic market conditions.”

“I am confident SMEs in the region will be able to emerge stronger, having forged closer bonds with customers and employees while developing innovative services and products that will put them on a strong growth trajectory as the world economy recovers,” he concluded.

Three tips from SAP to help SMEs thrive in the new normal are:
Organise for agility

Coordination across the business—facilitated by rapid communication and information-sharing—can help SMEs respond to challenges quickly and effectively.

Put people at the centre

Business processes, organisational structures, and digital investments should all support customer and employee engagement, whether through real-time insight into wants and needs, or innovations that improve convenience and quality.

Become data-driven

Analytics for decision-making can transform every aspect of operations, from insights that affect supply-chain sourcing to alerts that support predictive maintenance after sales.

SAP aims to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise with its enterprise application software leveraging machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies. Seventy-seven percent of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP system.

*Oxford Economics and SAP surveyed 2,000 senior executives from small and midsize organisations across 19 countries and industries. Each respondent organisation in our survey reported annual revenues or budgets ranging from under US$10 million to US$1 billion, as well as employee headcounts below 1,000. In India, some respondents employ more than 2,000 employees. 

Of the 2,000 respondents, 832 respondents were from APAC, in the following markets: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea. 

The survey was administered via a mix of computer-assisted telephone interviewing and online links between February 27 and April 30, 2020.

APAC SMBs optimistic about recovery after COVID

- HP study says Asia-Pacific (APAC) small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners remain optimistic

- Bouncing back will require innovation in work processes, flexible work options and customised products and services

- Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Australia, and Thailand SMBs are the most confident of their ability to be innovative

HP Inc.’s latest study* on SMBs in Asia-Pacific, Survival to Revival, revealed that over 50% of SMB owners expect not just to survive but thrive following the pandemic, and feel that digital transformation will be a key part of this revival.

Some 60% of respondents see digital transformation as key with innovation in work processes, flexible work options and customised products and services identified as future strategies. However, cost-effective solutions are required given that cashflow remains top of mind and SMBs are unclear where to look, or even what suitable solutions are available. This is especially key where only four in 10 SMBs have a department or person responsible for innovation.

Specifically:

• Fifty-three percent of SMBs in Asia expect to thrive post-pandemic and 60% see digital transformation key to success

• SMB respondents in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Australia, and Thailand are the most confident of their company’s ability to be innovative and see digital adoption as a key strategy

Indonesia sees the importance of digital to business success, with 74% of Indonesian respondents ranking it as 'essential' or 'very important' against regional average of 59% (India 75%; Vietnam 60%; Australia 58%; Thailand 75%)

• Japan, South Korea, and Singapore are more conservative about their predictions for the future, possibly based on the global nature of their economies. Japan sees the importance of digital to business success with 34% of Japanese respondents ranking it as 'essential' or 'very important' against regional average of 59%; (South Korea 43%; Singapore 50%)

That said, respondents also identified barriers to success. Forty-five percent cited global instability post-pandemic as a key concern due to the uncertainty and inability to plan for the future. Besides global instability, the top three barriers to success are cash flow (28%), the need for adequate marketing and recruitment.

“SMBs are the lifeblood of every economy in Asia but the pandemic has hit SMBs hard. As the engines of growth for Asia economies, it is critical for them to move past survival to revive their businesses,” said Ng Tian Chong, MD, Greater Asia at HP.

“This study provides us with the insights to provide practical help for SMBs so that they have access to an ecosystem of devices, tools and technology. With these resources, we want to help SMBs unlock innovation for customer and employee-centric experiences, as well as broadly upskill talent to rebound from the pandemic and prepare for the future.”

Source: HP. Infographic showing the Asian and Singapore figures for the Survival to Revival survey.

Completed in June 2020, the study surveyed SMBs across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and found:

• SMB owners understand that bouncing back post-pandemic will require them to lean on innovation in how they work, flexible work options and customisation of products and services. The top aspects to help them best bounce back are:

- Workstyle innovations (27%),

- Flexible work options (26%),

- Innovation in products and services (25%),

- Better use of digital tools available (23%) and

- Digitalising processes (19%).

• Companies most confident of bouncing back place high importance on digital adoption

Across the region, nearly 60% view digital adoption as very important or essential. Indonesian SMBs are particularly sensitive to this need, with a full 74% believing it is essential or very important, as are Thai SMBs, also at 65%.

• Growth projections have been significantly adjusted post-pandemic.

Across the region, 46% of SMBs were expecting growth prior to the pandemic but that figure has dropped to just 16%. India and Vietnam are the most confident about post-pandemic growth and Singapore, Japan and South Korea are least positive.

• Disruption to productivity is a common experience during COVID.

Only 6% of SMBs recorded higher levels of workplace productivity compared to the pre-COVID period while 43% recorded lower productivity.

• Skills is an issue.

The pandemic amplified the lack of digital-first mindsets and skills within existing SMBs that hamper growth, affecting nearly half (44%) of respondents.

SMBs are looking for the magic hire, preferring to hire people who can fulfil multiple duties to optimise productivity. In this context, hiring and recruitment is incredibly difficult as the SMB is trying to find someone with a broad range of skills from a narrow pool of candidates. This is particularly an issue in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam where recruitment is one of the top three barriers to success. The education, financial services and healthcare verticals also cite recruitment as one of the top three barriers to success.

• SMBs are unclear on where to look for assistance.

Financial institutions, especially, rank high (31%); 60% of SMBs consider government support to be insufficient and/or are unclear on what support is available; only 19% of respondents turn to IT companies for help.

Underpinning all of this is a need to identify digital talents who can help SMBs to transform the business. The majority of SMBs do not dedicate resources and/or invest in innovation as a discipline; it is more common to ask customers what they want, or simply mirror what the competition is offering.

Further:

- Only four in 10 have a team or individual responsible for developing new products and service.

- One in five work with external specialists or consultants to foster innovation.

- One in five SMBs have customised offerings, looked for new sales and supply-chain channels, or introduced new lines of business. 

Indonesia (59%) and Thailand (51%) stand out for having the highest percentage of SMBs dedicating resources to innovation. Unsurprisingly, SMBs in Indonesia and Thailand are also the most confident about business performance post-COVID.

Over half (54%) of SMBs see the pandemic as an opportunity to reformulate their business despite less bullish growth, with only 16% expecting growth post-COVID in 2021. To bounce back quickly from the pandemic, SMBs expect to increase usage of online meeting and digital tools and to migrate more processes to digital. Resources that can provide practical help on how to leverage digital technology to unlock innovation are a priority for rebounding from the pandemic most effectively, they said.

In response, HP is introducing integrated services-based print solutions, including an HP Roam for Business bundle, to make it easy to print on the go. Another solution for SMBs is the enhanced HP SecurePrint, a flexible, cloud-native solution that releases documents only to authorised users.

To support SMBs in adapting to new agile working environments, HP has introduced a suite of integrated services-based print solutions. HP is now offering a one-year license for HP Roam for Business with a compatible HP LaserJet Pro 400-series bought by 31 October 2020, making it easy to print on the go from a mobile device and to retrieve the job in a contactless manner at any HP Roam-enabled printer within the company network.

In addition, HP has enhanced HP SecurePrint, which now supports all network types, including traditional networks behind a firewall as well as serverless print environments, helping customers simplify IT infrastructures. To empower workers the HP Workpath ecosystem,which enables workers to connect to cloud-based platforms directly from the multifunction printers (MFP)**, has expanded rapidly since it launched in November 2019, with 100+ apps available on the platform and thousands of apps deployed.

To meet the demands of the SMB worker’s multitask, multiplace workday, HP PCs are designed to enable them to work anywhere. To ensure SMBs get ease of mind when working anywhere, HP is offering Sure Click Pro for free to all HP and non-HP Windows customers till September 30, 2020. HP Sure Click technology guards against malware, ransomware, and viruses embedded in email attachments or malicious websites.

HP is making it easy for SMBs to get their hands on the latest technology. Through initiatives like HP For Business in Thailand, HP has tailored a monthly subscription programme that includes powerful devices with trusted security and 24x7 technical support. The programme helps relieve financial pressures on entrepreneurs in the short term and takes care of their IT management needs.

Further, the HP LIFE programme offers free online self-paced training courses designed to help entrepreneurs and SMBs acquire new skills to grow their business, such as business communications, having a success mindset, social media marketing, and design thinking.

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Learn more about research highlights.

*The survey covered 1,600 SMBs which completed the survey between 26 May 2020 and 7 June 2020. The results comprise 200 interviews in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Only an owner, partner, MD, CEO, COO, CFO, or a Director of a business with fewer than 200 employees qualified for the survey. 

Interviews were split evenly between micro business (<10 employees), small business (10-49 employees), and medium business (50-199 employees). 

Multiple industries were represented, including retail/wholesale, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare, education and financial services. 

**Multifunction printers do more than just printing. Typically they will also scan and copy documents.

Acronis and Minterest offer cybersecurity, financing to Singapore businesses

Acronis, a global player in cyberprotection, is now offering Singapore businesses financing through a partnership with Minterest, a Singapore-based online financial services solutions provider. The two have joined forces to launch Acronis #CyberFit Financing, Powered by Minterest to provide Singapore-based businesses with financing support to remain resilient and #CyberFit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this partnership, Acronis and Minterest hope to empower businesses by providing easy access to customised financing solutions to tide them through this difficult period while building their cybersecurity capabilities to ringfence their businesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses globally to operate remotely and people to work from home, Acronis observed. Very often, they work with unsecured digital networks and are vulnerable to cyberattacks. As a cyberprotection company, Acronis is dedicated to helping organisations safeguard their data, applications, and systems so they can remain productive and avoid costly downtime. During the COVID-19 outbreak, essential services will need cyberprotection to be #CyberFit, ensuring their IT infrastructure remains protected and operational.

Serguei Beloussov, Founder and CEO of Acronis, said: “Cybercriminals are ruthless— they see the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to target new vulnerabilities such as those caused by many staff migrating to home offices. Now more than ever, cyberprotection should be a key concern for every business, as a data breach that costs a company valuable data can cripple even large organisations.

"Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is a solution we have developed to combat this global threat. Acronis is dedicated to doing our part to help businesses both in the digital and the real world. With support from our capable partners at Minterest, we hope to provide streamlined access to vital funding to ensure business continuity for as many Singapore businesses as possible.”

Beyond the heightened cybersecurity risk, businesses often face urgent cash flow issues. Minterest is able to bring speed to lending, as it is able to process and approve loan applications within 48 hours, upon full submission of necessary documents.
Charis Liau, CEO of Minterest, commented: “The COVID-19 outbreak has sent shock waves throughout the global economy and many companies are facing deteriorating business conditions and cash flow liquidity crunches. We are pleased to partner with Acronis to accelerate the access to financial aid for Singapore-based firms. We want to be here for them; not just get through the pandemic, but beyond that as well.”

Source: Acronis. The new Acronis #CyberFit Financing, Powered by Minterest initiative is a partnership between Acronis and Minterest.

Details:

All companies and limited liability partnerships registered in Singapore can sign up for Acronis #CyberFit Financing, Powered by Minterest

Hashtag: #CyberFit

Amazon launches Seller University in Singapore

Amazon has launched Seller University, an online education portal, for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Singapore at its first Amazon Singapore Online Seller Summit 2020. With interactive e-learning content, sellers on Amazon.sg can access live practice opportunities and personalised support to better operate on Amazon’s store.

“Sellers’ success is our success. We are heartened to see the overwhelming participation from local businesses at our first ever Seller Summit in Singapore. This is an encouraging milestone and we are committed to supporting local businesses for the long term, with new programmes such as Seller University to help in their digital transformation journey,” said Bernard Tay, Country Leader, Amazon.sg Seller Services and Head of Amazon Global Selling Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Amazon’s Seller University offers sellers a series of rich educational content such as complimentary training videos and online tools to educate businesses on how to sell on Amazon.sg. Sellers will be able to learn how to create effective product listings faster, master the key tools and applications for selling online, benefit from Amazon’s tools such as Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), advertising, promotions, and more. The Seller Central feature is also part of this offering and will provide sellers with personalised recommendations on programmes and features to accelerate their growth.

Amazon has launched a number of resources to help sellers since the launch of Amazon.sg in October 2019. There are promotional campaigns, data analysis of sales, and access to training workshops and 200 innovative tools to help retailers manage their businesses effectively on Amazon.

For instance, the Amazon Seller App allows sellers with accounts on Amazon.sg to track sales and manage their business via mobile. To empower sellers to build and nurture their businesses online, Amazon also rolled out Marketplace Appstore, a one-stop shop to discover third-party applications and services for automating tedious business aspects, and the Seller Forum, a resource for firsthand advice from fellow business owners on selling with Amazon.

To date, Amazon has attracted hundreds of new retailers to sell online on its marketplace. A one-time grant from Enterprise Singapore of up to S$9,000 per retailer can be used to subsidise content development, product listing, channel management, fulfilment, advertising and promotion, trainings and workshops for local retailers to enhance their e-commerce capabilities and reach more customers.

Amazon has also teamed up with OCBC to offer the first 200 OCBC small and medium sized business (SMB) customers that are eligible S$1,500 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) credit.

Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank, said: “It is critical for businesses to adapt, pivot and transform, and digital will play a big role in this. We have been helping businesses change the way they buy, sell and operate through our partnerships with key enablers such as Amazon. The Amazon Singapore Online Seller Summit 2020 has been a great opportunity to exchange such ideas and experiences as we journey together to a new reality.”

Explore:

Find out how to sell on Amazon

Grow as a SMB with Amazon

Singapore fintech aims to offer better B2B lending terms

Singapore-based startup Cash-IN-Asia has launched its business-to-business (B2B) fintech lending platform. Its approach to provide a 100% digital experience allows business owners to obtain financing from their mobile device.

Cash-IN-Asia plans to serve micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Singapore with products that not only address existing needs, but also assist these key members of Singapore’s economy to realise their business potential well after the crisis is over.

Its ISO27001-certified platform is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, and aims to provide a one-stop solution for transparent and flexible financing to MSMEs. By using AI and analytics in their credit decision and fraud detection engine, Cash-IN-Asia combines conventional risk assessment methods with alternative data and behavioural analysis for quicker and more accurate processing.

Two types of financing are offered: credit line and term loan. Amounts start at S$3,000 for a credit line to a maximum of S$150,000 for a term loan. Term loan tenures range from six months to three years, with no pre-payment penalties.

The platform requires a three-minute application, and promises an outcome in less than three hours. Successful applicants can request their approved funds to be disbursed in the next three hours. The time-to-cash process is one of the fastest amongst Singapore-based lenders today, the company said.

According to Cash-IN-Asia, studies* reveal that a significant percentage of small businesses in Singapore tend to be self-funded by business owners who may turn to their personal credit cards when difficulties arise. Credit card interest is high, and robs businesses of the opportunity to build their corporate credit history.

To offer a better alternative, Cash-IN-Asia prices financing rates lower than those of credit cards. The rates start at 20% for a credit line and 18% for a term loan. Cash-IN-Asia also structures its products to incentivise MSMEs to build a credit history that ultimately rewards good customers with cheaper financing over time.

Said founder and CEO, Eldwin Wong: “Our initial rate may be 20%, but the final rate they are charged eventually depends on them. If our clients perform well, confidence rises and trust is built. Our rates then come down, which is one of our unique value propositions for clients.”

Cash-IN-Asia also employs a “don’t use, don’t pay” model for its products. Sign up and application is free, and upon approval, clients are granted a credit facility with no fees or obligations. This is unlike other lenders that may impose a recurring facility fee.

The treatment of delinquent loans is another example of how the lender approaches things differently. The common practice with most traditional lenders is to declare these loans “in default” and resort to legal proceedings. Cash-IN-Asia prefers to work towards long-term “win-win” relationships instead. Troubled clients are given the opportunity to restructure their loans on acceptable terms that will help restore their businesses to health and service their loans.

Wong elaborates: “We believe in helping small business owners with their cashflow. That way, they get to focus more on their business and their chances of doing well increases. In turn, we will be able to scale up their loans and do more for them. One example of that is an automatic review of all client accounts every two months, to raise the credit limits of those in good standing for future growth.”

Cash-IN-Asia is the first B2B fintech lending company in Singapore to attain the ISO 27001 certification for information security. The certification allows it to meet diverse challenges of operating in the digital economy with high standards of business protocols and data integrity.

*Bain & Co, Fulfilling its Promise – The future of Southeast Asia’s digital financial services, 2019; and Deloitte Southeast Asia, Digital banking for small and medium-sized enterprises, 2015.

First business transformation programme in Malaysia sees significant success

United Overseas Bank Malaysia and The FinLab have announced that the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have completed the Jom Transform Programme¹ are expected to see productivity rise by up to 30% through digitalisation.

The Jom Transform Programme is the first business transformation programme in Malaysia to help local businesses digitalise their operations, driving productivity and revenue growth.

During the three-month programme, the 16 participating SMEs gained digital transformation skills and knowhow such as business re-engineering and digital marketing. As part of their skills development, they learnt from experts and were matched with technology partners to pilot relevant solutions and to assess the effectiveness of these solutions.

Out of the 16 participating SMEs, 12 piloted solutions to enhance their core business processes such as payroll, human resources and accounting. The automation of these processes is expected to help employees reduce the time they spend on manual, administrative processes by as much as 30%². The SMEs also piloted solutions in digital marketing, lead generation, content creation and e-commerce solutions. These solutions are expected to boost the SMEs’ sales and customer acquisition by up to 10%³.

Wong Kim Choong, CEO, UOB Malaysia, said the Jom Transform Programme affirms the bank’s commitment to help Malaysian SMEs digitalise their business for continued growth and productivity.

He said, “The Jom Transform Programme is designed to help Malaysian SMEs digitally transform their operations and we are pleased to announce that it has met this objective. Having completed the three-month programme, our 16 selected SMEs are now able to apply digital solutions to optimise their workflow processes, to improve sales, to increase customer loyalty and to raise brand awareness. To help these businesses grow further, we will support them in their expansion both at home and across the region through UOB’s established regional network.”

Jom Transform is jointly organised by UOB Malaysia and The FinLab, an innovation accelerator under United Overseas Bank. The programme is supported by five strategic partners including the Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Maxis, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and SME Corporation Malaysia.

Pauline Sim, Co-Head, The FinLab, said, “The Jom Transform Programme has successfully brought together the technology ecosystem and members of the SME community that are looking to digitalise and to uplift businesses together. We are thankful to all our partners who have supported the programme. As we continue the momentum into 2020, we will collaborate with the business and technology communities and networks we have brought together to support even more businesses who desire to transform.”

Serai Group, a Malaysian family-owned food and beverage (F&B) group with nine outlets across Kuala Lumpur, was one of the SMEs that successfully completed the Jom Transform Programme. As part of the programme, Serai Group piloted a digital solution provided by AImazing, a Singapore-based technology firm, to help the business digitalise its receipt and point-of-sale data.

Najib Hamid, MD and Group Chef, Serai Group, said “The Jom Transform Programme has helped us to evaluate our operations and to identify new technology solutions for our business. The F&B sector is competitive, and it is important to ensure our operations run smoothly at every level, from procurement and production through to customer experience. We are now implementing the solution from Singapore-based technology firm, AImazing, to reduce the manual workflow of collating sales data from across our nine outlets, releasing our staff to do higher-value work.”

Syarikat Letrik Chen Guan, an electrical contractor that provides end-to-end project management, electrical and mechanical services, is adopting UOB SmartBusiness⁴ to help drive efficiencies in its procurement and back-office processes.

Choong Pin Hoong, Director, Syarikat Letrik Chen Guan, said, “With projects running at different sites, our business requires many varieties of supplies and inputs. We are keen to implement technology solutions that will make the site planning, supply and management more automated and easier for our site managers to make and to track orders and deliveries.

"Through the Jom Transform Programme, we have come across new technology solutions such as UOB SmartBusiness, which enables us to digitalise our core processes and sales channels. This will help us build a strong foundation for our expansion plans.”

¹'Jom' is a colloquial term for ‘let’s go’ in Bahasa Malaysia. 

²This forecast is based on the number of man-hours the participating SMEs currently spend to manually process human resource (HR)-related activities such as payroll, leave applications, and employee benefits. The time dedicated to completing these types of activities typically account for 30% of the business owners’ total working hours.

³The projection is based on the digital solutions that the SMEs have piloted and are currently implementing. 

⁴In June 2018, UOB partnered SAP to launch UOB SmartBusiness, an integrated digital business solution designed to help SMEs make cost savings and improve their operating efficiency.

Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index finds Singapore SMBs in the lead

Source: Cisco ebook. The Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index measures digital maturity along four dimensions.

· SMBs in Singapore ranked No. 1 on Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index*

· Cybersecurity is the top technology that SMBs in Singapore are investing in, followed by cloud and analytics

· Lack of digital skills and talent within the organisation and lack of insight into operational and customer data listed as the top challenge by SMBs across the country

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Singapore are the most digitally mature across the Asia Pacific region, according to the APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index released by Cisco in mid-April.

The index highlights that more than 60% of SMBs in Asia-Pacific have started to embrace digitalisation, driven by improved Internet access and growing smartphone ownership. These SMBs are redefining customer experience and expectations, disrupting sectors and in some cases creating entire new ones, while capturing investment and funding opportunities.

The index, developed by research firm IDC based on an independent survey of 1,340 respondents in 14 countries across the region, looked at digital maturity of SMBs across four business dimensions: technology adoption and application, digital transformation strategy and organisation, processes and governance, and the capability to source, manage and retain the right talent to enable their digital transformation.

SMBs in Singapore were classified into the Digital Observer stage of digital maturity, but are still some way from advanced maturity. There are four stages of maturity in total, with Digital Indifferent being the least mature, Digital Observer and then Digital Challenger moving up the scale of maturity, and Digital Native being the most mature. The Digital Observer stage is defined as being one where companies’ digital efforts are heavily focused on processes automation to achieve efficiencies.

The level of maturity of SMBs in Singapore is best exemplified by the technologies that they are prioritising with cybersecurity being the top technology they are investing in, according to 16.7% of respondents. This highlights that they are placing security front and centre of their digital transformation journey.

As SMBs in Singapore become more digital, it is not surprising that cloud is the top technology they are investing in, at 12.9% of respondents. This is in line with the trend of cloud adoption across the region as the technology allows SMBs to scale rapidly as and when required and without significant upfront capital investment in IT infrastructure.

SMBs in Singapore are also adopting analytics technologies, with 11.2% of respondents listing these as one of the top three technology types that they are investing in. This highlights that they have a proactive data driven approach in their go-to-market decision making. Singapore and China are the only countries in the Asia Pacific region where analytics solutions rank in the top three for technology investments.

“SMBs in Singapore are often the first to embed digital technologies into the business to amplify their size, presence and competitiveness in the market. As a result, they are the first to benefit from productivity improvements, efficiency gains and new revenue opportunities. To get ahead, SMBs need to be more savvy with government initiatives that have been set up to support them,” said Tay Bee Kheng, MD, Singapore, Cisco.

However, SMBs in Singapore are also facing hurdles to digital transformation. Respondents said they are being held back by the lack of digital skills and talent within their organisation (16.7%), lack of insight into operational and customer data (16.7%) and lack of perceived value for digital transformation in their industry (13.1%).

The survey also revealed that government initiatives have an impact on SMB digitalisation in Singapore. About 41.4% of respondents say they are aware of government initiatives that support SMBs and have already benefitted from them. Another 52.9% are aware but have not taken part in these programmes.

Bidhan Roy, Regional Director & GM, SMB Markets & Distribution, ASEAN, Cisco added, “SMBs in Singapore are aware of the importance of developing a digitally-enhanced business to compete and use technology to improve business decision making around customers’ needs across all industries. The exceptional enabling environment in Singapore for innovation and digital transformation, combined with modern, upgradeable infrastructure, means that SMBs can readily take advantage of new innovations as they become available. This continuous focus on innovation is key for SMBs to keep driving Singapore’s economic development.”

The index suggests the following recommendations that can accelerate the digital transformation journey of SMBs in Singapore:

Digital transformation is a journey

It is not a sprint but a marathon. SMBs should constantly access their maturity across the four dimensions and prioritise key initiatives to address gaps.

Invest strategically

SMBs need to have a well-defined digital transformation strategy and roadmap. They need to use this as a guide to make strategic technology investments, ones that help them address their key challenges and leverage specific growth opportunities.

Embark on process automation and digitalisation

SMBs should look to gain efficiencies through process automation by leveraging relevant technologies. They should establish policies to standardise processes. As the organisation matures in their digital transformation journey, they should leverage data and digital technologies to transform processes, increase innovation rates and gain agility.

Secure buy-in

Change can be difficult, so SMBs need to ensure buy-in from employees and senior management. They need to identify digital champions within the organisation and bring them in early to the process. They should leverage these champions to catalyse a culture of change by encouraging collaboration, sharing success stories, and taking calculated risks.

Find a trusted partner

Many SMBs find it difficult to execute on their digital transformation strategy. SMBs should look for an experienced technology partner that brings consultancy and project management services, on top of technology knowhow. When deciding, it is important to find partners with experience working with and within the SMB ecosystem.

Explore:

Download the ebook (PDF)

*Respondents were from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. The SMBs were from multiple industries, including financial services, manufacturing, construction and resources, public sector, services, infrastructure, retail and wholesale.

Financial inclusion could accelerate economic growth in the Arab world

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for the development of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and financial inclusion in the Arab world.

Christine Lagarde, MD, IMF spoke at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE about doing more in Arab countries to increase growth and job opportunities for all. She noted that SMEs help create jobs, diversify economies, and support growth.

"In the Arab region, SMEs represent 96% of registered companies. They also employ half of the labour force. Yet their access to finance is the lowest in the world: lending to SMEs in the region is only 7% of total bank lending.

"We found that closing this financial inclusion gap – with respect to the average of emerging and developing countries – would yield multiple economic benefits:

"- It could boost annual economic growth by up to 1%o, potentially leading to about 15 million new jobs by 2025 in the Arab region.

"- It could also increase the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies, by improving domestic revenue mobilisation and monetary policy transmission.

It is clear then, that supporting and enabling SMEs is a key component of any inclusive growth agenda," she said.

IMF research has found that promoting SME financial inclusion requires a holistic approach. "To achieve meaningful, safe and sustainable SME access to finance, there is no magic bullet. And partial approaches are unlikely to suffice," she said.

Three success factors, Lagarde said, are sound economic fundamentals and financial sectors, institutional factors, and alternative channels for SME finance.

This translates into levelling the playing field for SMEs, maintaining a competitive economy and a banking sector that facilitates market entry for SMEs; good governance and financial supervisory capacity, availability of credit information, as well as strong legal frameworks; tapping capital markets and supporting the development of SME capital market segments.

"Fintech is also a potential game changer for SMEs: it can increase competition among credit providers and expand credit information," she said.

A departmental paper on how SME financial inclusion is at the core of the economic diversification, growth, and addressing job creation challenges many countries are facing was launched on February 12.

Source: IMF website. Infographic on boosting economic growth and job creation in the Middle East and Central Asia.

In other announcements the IMF said:

Jordan

Exports in Jordan increased in 2018, supported by the re-opening of the border with Iraq. Tourism has grown strongly, and credit to the private sector has grown at solid rates for the third consecutive year, according to an IMF team who visited Amman from January 27-February 7, to discuss the country’s recent economic developments; economic policies and reforms under Jordan’s reform programme supported by a three-year IMF extended fund facility (EFF) arrangement.

Team leader Martin Cerisola said economic growth remained at about 2% and inflation remained relatively steady, falling below 4% by year-end. "Weak growth and investment remain insufficient to generate more jobs, with unemployment at around 18%, presenting difficult conditions for the population," he said.

“The outlook for the Jordanian economy brings renewed momentum. The re-opening of the border with Iraq and associated trade and investment agreements; the extension and broadening of the trade agreement with the European Union; as well as other efforts to lower the cost of generating energy, all bode well for a steady recovery in investment, exports, competitiveness, and growth. However, challenges still remain, particularly from tighter and more volatile global financing conditions and elevated vulnerabilities."

UAE

The UAE economy is starting to recover from the 2015–16 slowdown caused by a decline in oil prices, the IMF said. Growth momentum is expected to strengthen in the next few years with increased investment and private sector credit, improved prospects in trading partners, and a boost to tourism from Expo 2020.

Non-oil growth is projected to rise to 3.9% in 2019 and 4.2% in 2020. The oil sector’s prospects have also improved with higher oil prices and output. Overall real GDP growth is projected at around 3.7% for 2019–20. Inflation is expected to remain low, notwithstanding the introduction of the value-added tax (VAT) earlier in 2018.

IMF directors agreed that creating a vibrant, diversified, and knowledge-based economy will require continued reforms to boost the role of the private sector and promote talent and inclusiveness. They welcomed recent reforms, including the liberalisation of foreign investment, and encouraged the authorities to swiftly implement them, while broadening and deepening policy initiatives to improve productivity and competitiveness.

Timor-Leste

Government spending is expected to regain momentum in 2019, with non-oil GDP growth projected at 5%. "Inflation rose in 2018 and is expected to reach around 3% by end-2019, below the government’s target of 4%," said Niklas Westelius of the IMF, who visited Timor-Leste from January 14-25 to conduct the 2019 Article IV Consultation discussions.

Westelius added, “Political uncertainty constitutes the main downside risk to the near-term outlook, with the potential to reduce public spending and slow reform efforts. Over the medium-term, insufficient progress to diversify the economy and create private-sector jobs could worsen labour market outcomes.

"Moreover, with oil revenue from active fields expected to end in 2022, continued drawdowns of the Petroleum Fund could pose risks to long-run fiscal sustainability. Beyond the medium-term, the development of the Greater Sunrise fields represents an upside risk, provided that the project is technically and economically viable and that proper safeguards are taken to minimise funding risks.'

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong SAR’s economy is expected to grow 3.5% in 2018 and 2.9% in 2019 according to IMF projections. The organisation said private consumption aided by a tight labour market and investment are expected to continue to support growth, with headwinds coming from the increased trade tensions, tighter global financial conditions, and slower growth in mainland China.

Risks to the outlook include the further escalation of global trade tensions, possible disorderly tightening of global financial conditions, slower-than-expected growth in mainland China, and a sharp housing market correction.

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