Budget 2022: Renewed push for digital innovation seen as a plus
COMPANIES are welcoming the government's greater support for digitalisation in this year's Budget, especially as the pandemic has forced many to step up investments in tech and skills upgrading.
In his Budget speech on Friday (Feb 18), Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced an additional S$200 million over the next few years to boost schemes that build digital capabilities.
For instance, the Advanced Digital Solutions (ADS) initiative under the Infocomm Media Development Authority will have an expanded scope. Launched in 2020, the scheme promotes the adoption of advanced integrated solutions, such as in robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT).
From April, it will be expanded to include solutions that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud tech. Participating companies will receive up to 70 per cent funding support.
Anantha Nayak, chief business officer of eyewear retailer Lenskart, said that schemes like the ADS will help the company grow its laboratory for edging, the process of precisely cutting lenses to fit a frame.
"As a fast growing startup, our needs are constantly evolving and we are at the threshold of regional expansion. This puts the impetus on us to identify, recruit and continually upgrade the right skill sets," said Nayak.
Another initiative that will be expanded is Grow Digital, which helps companies tap e-commerce platforms to reach overseas markets. From April, it will include more pre-approved platforms.
This year's Budget also emphasised upskilling. The TechSkills Accelerator programme will expand to include SMEs and startups to provide more opportunities for mid-career workers, as well as partner industry leaders to grow product development teams in Singapore.
Separately, the capacity of R&D centres, in polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education, will be increased.
In the next 5 years, the centres will be able to undertake close to 2,000 innovation projects in 5 sectors: agri-tech, construction, food manufacturing, precision engineering and retail.
"These enhancements are also a step in mitigating the problem of a talent crunch, especially in the tech sector," said Kelvin Lam, regional general manager of fintech startup YouTrip.
"Partnerships between educational institutions and enterprises are a useful approach for students to gain practical experience and develop the next generation of tech talent for the workforce."
Beyond promoting innovation, Singapore is also investing deeper into critical capabilities. The country will upgrade its broadband infrastructure with the aim of increasing broadband access speeds by about 10 times over the next few years.
It will also invest in the frontier realm of 6G tech, where there are many new possibilities for augmented and virtual reality.
The Budget measures serve to strengthen Singapore's status as a global tech node, said Satyen Desai, head of South-east Asia and Korea at cybersecurity specialist Cloudflare.
He added that the company is encouraged by the government's support for upskilling, "particularly in the tech sector, where competition for talent will continue to remain fierce".
