A*Star inks partnerships to boost productivity and tech adoption in SMEs

TO improve productivity and encourage more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt technologies, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) is partnering Spring Singapore, the Singapore Productivity Centre (SPC), and NTUC Health separately.

A*Star announced its joint initiatives with Spring and signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the other two organisations during its annual SME Day on Thursday.

The collaboration with Spring will drive wider adoption of A*Star's ready-to-go technology platforms. Both agencies will work with private companies to customise selected technologies according to industry needs and deploy them to SMEs. A*Star will license its technologies or provide technical expertise to SMEs, while Spring will provide funding support.

A*Star's partnership with SPC will focus on the food, hotel and retail sectors, by addressing those industries' operational needs with A*Star's ready-to-go technologies. With NTUC Health, A*Star will deploy its technologies to the former's nursing home so as to increase productivity and improve the quality of care for the nursing home's residents.