Local businesses should seize opportunities to support SMEs, go global: Alvin Tan

LOCAL companies and tech platforms should seize opportunities brought about by the Covid-19 crisis to establish a strong base, support Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) ecosystem, and use it as a launchpad to go global, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan on Thursday.

On its part, the government is supporting businesses on all levels, including "very successful" companies ready to expand into global markets, as well as smaller businesses that need a boost to digitalise, through its initiatives such as Heartlands Go Digital or SMEs Go Digital, he said.

Speaking at the First Caroupreneur Awards ceremony held by online classifieds platform Carousell at its new global headquarters located in Singapore, Mr Tan said that the Republic has many competitive advantages. These include strong infrastructure and research and development, a robust intellectual property rights framework, as well as links with the region.

These advantages provide a strong foundation for companies such as Carousell to pursue critical activities, including acquiring customers and talent, he added.

"By going overseas, and by building up their muscle through these acquisitions, through these partnerships, they can also continue to grow in Singapore," Mr Tan said at the event.

"And then that helps our SME ecosystem, particularly right now, with Covid-19 and digitalisation accelerating."

Carousell on Thursday held an awards ceremony to celebrate the "creativity, grit and entrepreneurial spirit" of Carousell users who have, during the pandemic, turned to alternative methods to keep their businesses afloat or started new ventures.

Winners were recognised in 12 categories, with five awards - Caroupreneur Merchant of the Year 2020, Best New CarouBiz Booster Package Merchant, Best SME Digitalisation, Heroes of Free (to acknowledge those who give away items) and Best in Carousell - Autos (Used Cars) - being presented at the event.

The six-month CarouBiz Booster Package, which supports the digitalisation of micro-enterprises, SMEs, entrepreneurs and heartland merchants, provides tools and platform credits and services at a subsidised rate, due to a one-time, 90 per cent support from Enterprise Singapore.

Ng Chee Soon, managing director of Carousell Singapore, said that the pandemic has, for Carousell, been a heartwarming validation of its relevance in the community. One in three Singaporeans are active users of its platform each month, compared to before the pandemic, where one in four Singaporeans were active on Carousell, he said.

The homegrown startup has evolved since it was established in 2012, where it was mostly used for casual deals between consumers. Amid the pandemic, many have found new use cases for the platform.

For example, those who became unemployed have used Carousell to market themselves, while some users working from home have found ways to monetise their hobbies with a side hustle on the platform.

"I think the other thing that we also saw was, fundamentally, a shift in usage, a representation of how life was changing," Mr Ng noted.

"People were beginning to flock to our platform to look for things to make their lives more comfortable at home, or maybe even explore new hobbies," he said, adding that demand for bicycles was "through the roof" and remains high even now. Furniture, electronics and gym equipment have also seen a surge in popularity.

Today, beyond facilitating transactions, Carousell has created groups with different areas of focus, such as advertising or automobiles, and partners authorities to work on campaigns or provide support and trust for its users.

It operates in eight Asian markets, employing 700 staff.

"Our business is very dynamic and evolves very quickly," Mr Ng said. "Being a startup, true to our nature, we are always re-evaluating our position, our strengths, our weaknesses, where our strategic opportunities are. And then, we will bet on it."