Trade associations, chambers pump up the volume under Lead programme
28 projects started in the last year with S$36m in funding, up from 11 projects and S$10m previously
Singapore
TRADE associations and chambers (TACs) have ramped up productivity and market access projects under the Local Enterprise and Association Development (Lead) programme.
The 28 projects in the past year aim to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) "build business capabilities and co-create new growth opportunities".
They are driven by 23 TACs that have been awarded S$36 million under the Lead programme, which is jointly administered by Spring Singapore and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
The figures represent a jump from the year before, when only 10 TACs were awarded funding of close to S$10 million for 11 projects.
Launched in 2005, the Lead programme aims to enhance industry and business competitiveness through partnerships with TACs which take the lead in industry development and initiatives.
The type of projects that the TACs embark on range from productivity improvements and access to markets to other areas of development such as digitalisation and technology adoption to keep pace with industry transformation efforts.
Of the 28 industry projects supported over the year, 10 of them were initiated by associations new to the Lead programme (See table).
At the annual Lead Forum 2017 on Monday, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran described the programme as the "cornerstone" of the government's strategy to boost the enterprise development efforts of TACs. Even as he acknowledged the progress made by TACs, he noted that more can be done to encourage collaboration among them.
With that, he announced the formation of the Logistics Alliance, a new intra-industry group to develop and drive industry projects in the logistics sector. It is in line with the Logistics Transformation Map (ITM) launched last year to reinforce Singapore's position as a global logistics hub.
Six organisations signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the forum on Monday.
Supported by Spring, the group comprises four TACs - the Container Depot and Logistics Association (Singapore), the Singapore Logistics Association, the Singapore Transport Association, and SAAA@Singapore (the former Singapore Aircargo Agents Association) - as well as Republic Polytechnic's Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management.
Mr Iswaran said: "Under this Alliance, the four TACs have formed sub-groups to lead specific initiatives including identification and adoption of emerging technologies, development of a common transport platform, and designing of training programmes to expand the talent pool and upskill the logistics workforce."
Apart from intra-industry collaboration, he shared two other ways for TACs to help local firms; the first is to have well-established TACs serve as anchors in consortiums with smaller TACs, the second is for arrangements that span multiple industries.
Mr Iswaran also launched a call for proposals between TACs to submit joint project ideas for industry transformation under the expanded Lead programme. Announced at the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, the maximum funding level for high-impact, multi-TAC projects under Lead would be raised from 70 per cent to 90 per cent.
