Securing buy-in from SMEs about industry transformation

IT is the time of year that businesses make their voices heard, as the various trade associations put out survey findings of their members' concerns and wishlists, in the lead-up to Budget Day.

And, once again, debate has arisen over the relevance and efficacy of government policies. Are the industry transformation maps (ITMs) at the heart of the government's Future Economy push useful to a broad enough swathe of Singapore's businesses?

On Wednesday, the chief of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) - which represents 24,200 companies here - spoke of a sense that the ITMs are "disconnected from the reality of industry". This is especially so for the "long tail of SMEs who are not as productive, not as innovative", SBF CEO Ho Meng Kit said. While Mr Ho has clarified that he was sharing the sentiment of companies, not SBF, and that the federation is fully supportive of the ITMs, policymakers should take heed of the feedback from the firms.