Techblog
Collaboration at satellite SME Centres extended by 3 years
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstone of Singapore’s economy and the government has always been proactive in nurturing their growth. The announcement of an extension of the partnership between SPRING Singapore and the People’s Association (PA) at satellite SME Centres is another such move.
The SME Centres initiative launched by SPRING Singapore in 2013 included the setting up of five heartland SME Centres at Community Development Councils (CDCs). By aiding more than 11,000 SMEs, the PA has done well in bringing one-stop business advisory services and access to government schemes to heartland SMEs.
Recognising the continuing need for support in this period of slow economic growth, SPRING Singapore and PA recently announced their intention to continue the collaboration in running the five heartland centres for another three years.
Multi-dimensional support
Going beyond just offering business consultancy, heartland SME centres will now aid SMEs in improved initiatives such as capability upgrading efforts.
The SPRING Singapore and PA partnership will collaborate with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) to leverage grassroots networks and work with merchant associations and mayors to provide enhanced services at the satellite centres.
The SME Centres at the CDCs will endeavour to "deepen the partnership of the SME network with the community", Ms. Low Yen Ling, Mayor of Southwest District said at the third SME Centre Conference.
Community-oriented programmes will include helping SMEs deal with ongoing manpower issues. SME Centres at CDCs will support heartland SMEs so that they are in a good position to provide employment to people in the neighbourhood.
Focus on group-based solutions
This locality-based approach is in line with the continuing emphasis on collective problem-solving for SMEs that face common challenges. Speaking at the third SME Centre Conference, Dr. Koh Poh Koon, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, noted that group-based solutions have proved beneficial for a while now.
For instance, productivity solutions for the manufacturing sector offered by the Manufacturing Productivity Technology Centre (MPTC) at A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) have been adopted by more than a hundred SMEs, each of whom reported at least 20 percent improvement in productivity. Encouraged by this, MPTC is now offering similar packaged solutions to SMEs in other sectors.
A quick case study
Hallmark Flowers & Gifts, located in Toa Payoh, is an SME set up by Ms. Lina Lai in 2006. The business provides corporate and retail customers flower arrangement and gift hamper services.
In August 2014, Ms Lai sought advice from her heartland SME Centre@Central to grow her business. After a few business advisory sessions, Ms Lai added e-commerce capability to her business. Hallmark Flowers & Gifts also implemented a new point-of-sales system. With increased sales channels and automated sales and inventory management processes, the business is now able to handle more customer enquiries and has seen a 30 percent jump in sales. Ms. Lai is now looking at ways to drive greater online sales through the company’s website.
SMEs employ seven out of every 10 workers and contribute to half the GDP, Minister Koh noted. Hence, it is pivotal for the nation’s economic health that SMEs become more competitive by getting leaner and smarter in these testing times. Taking note of this, SPRING Singapore and PA have extended their partnership at the five heartland SME Centres as follows:
- The five satellite SME Centres will work towards building strong bonds between SMEs and their local communities.
- Further to business advisory sessions, heartland SME Centres will help with capability upgrading.
- There will be a continual focus on group-based solutions for common business problems.