Specialised financial, digitalisation advice to be available at SME Centres in Singapore

UNDER a new pilot, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to get in-depth specialist advice from SME Centres, starting with the areas of financial advisory and digitalisation.

Financing specialist advisers will help SMEs better understand the financing ecosystem and the various financing options available to them, and help to diagnose and strengthen their financial health.

For example, if an SME wishes to expand but lacks the funds, the SME Centre's specialist adviser will assess the company's financial health, and recommend the appropriate financing model and available financing instruments, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling at the ministry's Committee of Supply debate on Tuesday.

The adviser will then guide the business owner on how to strengthen their loan applications, and link the SME up with relevant banks for the application, she added.

Firms can make appointments with financing specialist advisers at www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/smecentre. Details on access to digital specialist advisers will be released by the fourth quarter of 2021.

SME Centres are run by Enterprise Singapore in partnership with trade associations and chambers (TACs). TACs, too, will get help to improve capabilities and "attract, retain and develop the right talent", with a new TAC competency framework that is expected to be ready in the third quarter of 2021.

Developed by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, with support from the Singapore Business Federation, Enterprise Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore, the framework will identify existing gaps and relevant skills required by the TAC secretariats and their leaders.

"Suitable programmes will then be developed to upgrade and build the skillsets of the TAC sector," added Ms Low.

She also announced two new features to be added to the government's GoBusiness portal. The first is an online guided journey, with a step-by-step guide on how to set up a business, recommendations for a suitable business structure, and suggested relevant resources.

The second feature is one that helps firms check or make changes to the use of premises. "This will allow companies to quickly check, identify the right governing authority, and provide information on the approved uses of rental or purchased commercial premises," said Ms Low.