Celebrating best practices in business

OVER these past 15 years, the external environment continues to evolve with disruptions in businesses and markets, against a backdrop of slower growth. The Committee on the Future Economy had also released its recommendations and the government is moving towards a new way of working - one of co-creating solutions with stakeholders.

Given these developments, Singapore Business Federation (SBF) embarked on a strategic review to reposition itself as a growth platform championing the interests of the Singapore business community. We will sense, prioritise, analyse and help resolve burning issues faced by significant segments of businesses.

The repositioned SBF will form Issues Committees led by SBF Council Members to deep dive into business issues, serving as platforms for collaborations with government and industries. They will undertake activities in support of the growth of businesses and the economy. The first committee will be on digitalisation, headed by Council Member Janet Ang, also Vice President, Industry Solutions, IBM Asia Pacific.

This committee will include government agencies such as IMDA to help businesses build strong digital capabilities and drive the adoption of digital technologies. This committee includes the heads of many important trade associations and chambers (TAC) in order to drive implementation in industry sectors. We look forward to having more business leaders from both large companies and SMEs come forward to serve on these Issues Committees and SBF's Council.

Moving forward, the repositioned SBF will see a hallmark on collaboration through the signing of a Compact to form the TAC Alliance, which aims to strengthen the working relationship between business organisations and TACs in Singapore as strategic partners and collaborators.

SBF's involvement in the E50 Awards is an excellent example of our collaboration efforts with key business organisations like KPMG. This year's E50 Awards theme "Innovate, Grow & Succeed: Staying Competitive In Today's Economy" is most appropriate as it ties in with SBF's community-wide, enterprise-focused platforms to encourage businesses to adopt an innovative mindset for their long-term growth.

Our involvement in the E50 Awards complements our existing innovation-related platforms including the "IN-Conversation Series", the Mentorship-Leadership Roundtable series, the "Innovation Management Executive Masterclass" series, the annual Family Business Forum and the annual Future Economy Conference & Exhibition.

As innovation is also closely related to workplace productivity, SBF also organises productivity-related platforms such as the "Holistic Industry Productivity Scorecard", the Mentorship for Accelerating Productivity programme and the annual Singapore Productivity Awards.

The E50 Awards recognises and celebrates companies for leadership and performance in their quest for excellence in innovation, growth and international market success.

SBF believes that other than celebrating their excellent corporate achievements, the Award winners also serve as important role models to beckon and spur the wider business community to transform, grow and prosper.