Asme launches programme to help SMEs form strategic partnerships; expands market access initiatives to Asia

[SINGAPORE] As part of its strategic priorities for 2026, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) has launched a programme that equips smaller businesses with capabilities to engage in strategic alliances, and will expand its market access initiatives to Asia.

The new SME Unite (Unifying Networks, Integration & Teaming for Enterprises) programme encourages SMEs to diversify beyond traditional organic growth avenues and instead, look to strategic partnerships as a growth strategy.

These include forming consortiums and joint ventures, as well as exploring mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Asme will also expand its global market access initiatives to connect SMEs to new opportunities in key South-east Asian markets – such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia – and China.

These plans were announced at the association’s media engagement event on Wednesday (Dec 3), where it unveiled its newly elected 29th council and strategic priorities for the year ahead.

Championing inorganic growth

Asme president Ang Yuit, who was elected for a second term, said the council will focus on the “tangible implementation” of initiatives to help SMEs scale and enter new markets.

Firstly, the SME Unite programme aims to equip SMEs with foundational knowledge of partnership models and inorganic growth strategies, such as forming alliances, joint ventures and M&A.

Targeted at smaller firms with revenues below S$20 million, it will facilitate deal sourcing and connect them to qualified professional services, which they may not typically have access to.

A poll of 211 SMEs by Asme found that while 60 per cent of firms are open to M&A and partnerships as a growth strategy, 82 per cent of them rated their own knowledge of the process as “poor” or “basic”.

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In addition, only 13 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the availability of professional services for their segment, citing cost and complexity as major barriers.

Ang said the programme addresses these gaps by consolidating the know-how and resources for small and micro-SMEs to band together through inorganic growth models. This will give them a greater chance of success in scaling to overseas markets.

“When you’re a much smaller firm, it’s a vicious cycle where you don’t know enough and you cannot scale up inorganically... now, with the rapid pace of disruption and change, we need to give our SMEs a leg up to empower themselves with multiple pathways to grow faster,” he added.

Lee Swee Siong, chairman of the SME Unite advisory council, said: “Our extensive research with SME owners revealed a strong desire to grow through partnerships, but there is a clear gap in the knowledge and resources to do so.”

He added that the SME Unite programme is therefore designed to “demystify this complex process”, and build an ecosystem to help SMEs forge “powerful alliances, execute deals and achieve the scale necessary to compete internationally”.

Strengthening market access initiatives

Secondly, Asme said it is “actively undertaking exploratory initiatives” to connect SMEs to new opportunities in Asia, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

This is part of the new council’s 2026 strategy to identify and secure high-potential growth opportunities for Singapore SMEs in the region. The association recently staged a business mission to Dubai in October that focused on AI and technology partnerships.

To further strengthen in-market support, Asme has partnered the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants’ professional services centres, located in cities such as Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City.

These overseas centres support SMEs in accessing new markets and facilitating lead generation.

In addition, the association is planning a series of China business missions to support Singapore SMEs in entering various Chinese cities of interest.

It will lead off with a business mission to Chongqing in the first quarter of 2026 to help SMEs looking to establish a foothold in Western China.

To build synergies with China-based SMEs, Asme is also holding joint business exploration with Chinese entrepreneurs to Asean and other markets of interest.

This will be an extension of its “venture as a pack” strategy, which aims to foster cross-border collaboration and shared growth.