A banking partner trusted by Asia's SMEs

As the world learns to live alongside Covid-19, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore and the region are shifting gears away from focusing solely on survival to adopting a more optimistic outlook of business expansion and regional growth.

However, there are dark clouds of rising interest rates, inflation and supply chain disruptions looming on the horizon. As a result, SMEs are looking for a trusted banking partner to scale their businesses and get faster access to working capital through digital banking and transformational solutions.

Leading UK financial publication Euromoney recognised DBS for being exactly that when they named it the World's Best SME Bank and Asia's Best SME Bank just last month. Euromoney lauded DBS for being all about digital innovation, and for applying its technological advantage to benefit SMEs. Louise Bowman, editor of Euromoney, said: "DBS has applied its customary digital innovation to the SME space with great success."

"DBS has applied its customary digital innovation to the SME space with great success." - Louise Bowman, editor of Euromoney

Helping SMEs reap the dividends of digital innovation

One key benefit of having a best-in-class banking partner is the unparalleled convenience of accessing end-to-end digital solutions like account opening, collections, payments, working capital and other credit solutions. DBS' industry-leading digital lending process - the first in Singapore to be fully digital from application to disbursement - has proved critical to SMEs looking to shore up their balance sheets to cope with economic headwinds.

Ng Yee Jie, founder and CEO of Ordinary Kind, an omni-channel retailer in furniture and baby goods, recounted the difficulties he faced in getting a loan from other banks as he was grounded in Malaysia at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. "It would have been impossible for me to come down to Singapore to meet a banker and sign the necessary documents, given the border restrictions." However, DBS was able to approve and fulfil the loan remotely and digitally in what Ng described as "not just a timesaver, but also a real lifesaver".

"DBS' digital loan application, approval and disbursement process was not just a timesaver, but also a real lifesaver." - Ng Yee Jie, founder and CEO of Ordinary Kind

DBS has continued to improve its lending process to SMEs, and, today, access to working capital has been reduced to just a minute to apply, a second to approve and, in some instances, even instant disbursement. All these available within a single easy-to-use platform - DBS IDEAL.

As a result of the bank's robust credit processes and enhanced digital lending, DBS has approved more than 16,300 collateral-free loans totalling more than S$7 billion to SMEs in Singapore, with over 90 per cent of the loans going to micro and small enterprises since 2020.

With cash flow as the lifeblood of SMEs, another key benefit of DBS' digital prowess is the proactive management of credit quality. Through the innovative use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced data analytics, SMEs now receive early alerts of potential credit risks even before the problems present themselves. By putting these risks on their radar, DBS can now partner businesses to act pre-emptively and nip potential credit issues in the bud.

Joyce Tee, group head of SME Banking, said: "As SMEs emerge from the pandemic, they are walking into intensifying macro-economic headwinds, geopolitical tensions and supply chain turmoil. In all operating environments, we will continue to partner our SMEs to proactively manage their cash-flow and liquidity needs while cheering them on to keep up the momentum of their digital transformation and business expansion journeys."

Strong regional ecosystems to supercharge SMEs' growth

SMEs are increasingly looking beyond working capital solutions and increasingly value banking partners that can offer regional insights and networks to power their growth. SMEs looking to tap the potential of Asia's economic engines including China, India and Indonesia - South-east Asia's largest economy - often name DBS as their partner of choice, given the bank's deep expertise in those markets.

SMEs are also benefiting from DBS' early moves to embed itself in regional ecosystems partnerships. DBS offers client programmes and has 15 platform partnerships where DBS' products and solutions are embedded into the large corporate client, or anchors, or the platform partner's ecosystem. An example is a collaboration that DBS has forged with JD Logistics (JDL) in China and Hong Kong. Via an integrated one-stop solution on JDL's platform, merchants can view their available limits, outstanding loan amounts and initiate financing requests where funds will be automatically disbursed into their bank accounts.

Transforming SMEs into businesses for impact

With sustainability now a top priority for the business community, SMEs are also looking for a banking partner that can catalyse their transformation into businesses that have a positive environmental and social impact even as they manage the day-to-day operations of their businesses.

Since last year, SMEs have been supported by more than S$100 million in green financing to scale businesses in sectors such as clean energy, green infrastructure, and clean transportation.

Singapore-based Terrenus Energy received such a loan from DBS which enabled it to install 40,000 portable solar photovoltaic panels in Singapore. Furthermore, DBS will be offering green renovation loans to encourage SMEs to undergo sustainability retrofits for their commercial and industrial properties.

SMEs looking to transition towards more sustainable business models can also tap the new DBS Foundation SME Grant Programme, which provides grants of up to S$100,000 to support such moves. This is in addition to the support that DBS has extended to social enterprises around the region since 2014.

DBS has supported over 800 social enterprises through capacity-building programmes and awarded more than S$10 million in grants to some 90 social enterprises.

Singapore-based Magorium, which builds roads made from recycled plastic waste, is an example of how DBS is nurturing the next generation of businesses for impact. With the help of a grant offered by the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme, Magorium is well on track to processing up to 200 tonnes of unrecyclable plastic waste to construct eco-friendly roads in Singapore.

"Beyond the grant support, we were connected with mentors who provided valuable guidance in areas such as financial modelling." - Oh Chu Xian, founder and CEO of Magorium

A committed and experienced SME partner

In further validation of DBS' commitment to partner the region's SMEs through thick and thin, Hong Kong-based The Asset has similarly named DBS as both the Asia-Pacific's and Singapore's Best Bank for SMEs.

Tan Su Shan, group head of institutional banking at DBS, said: "We do not take these accolades from Euromoney and The Asset lightly and are grateful for the trust that SMEs in the region have placed in us to deliver on their banking and digital transformation needs. We believe that when SMEs do well, the broader economy does well, and it is this greater sense of purpose that drives us to go the extra mile for our SMEs. DBS will continue to place our SMEs at the heart of everything we do to build sustainable and resilient businesses."

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