SMEs need help in enterprise and tech road-mapping: SBF
Singapore
THE Singapore Business Federation wants the government to help small and medium enterprises to grow their revenues and maintain market share via enterprise and technology road-mapping.
The apex business body's SME Committee said in its wishlist for this year's government budget that enterprise and technology road-mapping will help SMEs to adopt new technology and develop strategies to meet the two business goals which, according to a SBF survey, are SMEs' top priorities in the next 12 months.
Specifically, the SBF's SME Committee wants government agencies such as Enterprise Singapore, which have ready support for SMEs in enterprise and technology road-mapping, to work closely with trade associations and chambers (TACs) in these areas.
It said they should focus on "driving more effective outreach programs for awareness and promote greater adoption through lowering costs".
The committee also wants the government to look into providing specialised Industry Transformation Map (ITM)-related advisory to SMEs through the respective ITM lead agencies in and TACs to offer direct help to SMEs which require it.
It will further help if the government simplifies the application for government funding by SMEs, SBF said in a submission listing seven key proposals for Budget 2019. The submission was dated Jan 2.
Kurt Wee, chairman of the SBF's SME Committee, told The Business Times on Monday that existing government assistance schemes for SMEs are "quite" comprehensive but there's a need to package them to be offered in a holistic manner.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat is due to deliver the government's Budget statement on Feb 18.
The SBF survey also found that SMEs could do with government help "in addressing transformation challenges, digitalisation and human capital development". Overseas expansion remains a top priority.
Mr Wee, who is also the president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said SMEs must continue to expand overseas and diversify their markets. They should take advantage of the access provided by the free trade pacts Singapore has signed.
The SBF committee also recommended to the government to provide trade associations and chambers the resources to build up overseas Singapore business communities and relevant business groups as "node points that our SMEs can leverage on to facilitate easier market entry".
"This could involve working through appointed lead trade associations and chambers to serve as the go-to party for selected focused markets," it said in its Budget wishlist.
SBF's committee on SMEs also called for help in manpower development, boosting competitiveness, cost reduction and access to government support.
While improvements have been made to simplify the government help schemes, the committee's submission said the documentation for application and audit remains cumbersome.
"The SBF National Business Survey 2018/19 revealed that one in three SMEs would welcome help with the complex schemes and grants for business transformation and expressed that this was an area that ITMs could help to address," it said.
The committee suggested creating "sub-segments within the current definition of SMEs" to provide for "more differentiated and targeted help". Simplified info-maps of government support schemes will also be usedful, it added.
