Many funding schemes to help SMEs

WE ASSURE Mr Liew Meow Koon ("Ensure SME help schemes are helpful"; last Saturday) that building a strong and competitive small and medium-sized enterprise sector is a key priority for the Government.

The Government provides many funding schemes to help SMEs. We adopt a consultative, not prescriptive, approach and constantly take in feedback to review our schemes. For example, setting up the Capability Development Fund that combined different schemes into one.

We also run extensive outreach efforts to the business community. For example, we are setting up integrated one-stop SME Centres and satellite SME Centres across the island so that even smaller businesses in the heartland can seek face-to-face business advice.



At the recent National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a new SME Workgroup led by Minister of State Teo Ser Luck, and comprising business leaders and advisers. The workgroup will widen and deepen engagement with the business community to better understand sectoral concerns and challenges, and assist the Government to tailor better programmes to help SMEs.

Mr Liew suggested that the Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) be expanded in scope to help SMEs. Each ICV allows an SME to defray $5,000 from the cost of engaging service providers to upgrade its capabilities. Each SME can apply for up to eight vouchers.

The ICV is intended to encourage smaller SMEs to take their first steps towards capability building. Hence, it supports the SMEs under areas such as innovation, productivity, human resources and financial management.

SMEs that have benefited from ICV can consider taking bigger steps to improve and grow their businesses. For such projects, SMEs can apply for support from Spring's Capability Development Grant.

There are many schemes that SMEs can tap at different stages of their development. For more information, please visit www.spring.gov.sg

Cindy Keng (Mrs)
Director, Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Trade and Industry
ST Forum, 7 Sep 2013

Ensure SME help schemes are helpful

MINISTER of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck appears puzzled as to why few small and medium-sized enterprises took up the Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) ("Few SMEs tap govt productivity schemes"; Wednesday).

Since my retirement from corporate human resources, I have assisted and advised a number of SMEs on the various government funding schemes.

Companies can apply for the ICV to cover services in four areas and may apply for two vouchers per area.

But, in the area of HR, for example, there are six functional modules required to build an appropriate HR infrastructure. Funding only two modules is like patching a cracked wall, resulting in a half-baked structure.

The scheme should be extended to cover all modules so companies can get coherent and integrated assistance.

Unfortunately, most government funding schemes are prescriptive rather than consultative. My experience working with SMEs suggests that the majority of companies do not know what is needed and, as such, do not know where to start.

To get SMEs to take up the funding and spend time on the projects, they need to see that it will assist them to grow their business and add value.

It is time for a review of the processes to encourage SMEs to undertake such government-funded projects.

Liew Meow Koon
ST Forum, 31 Aug 2013

Related
New group to see how to better help SMEs