While generative AI holds promise, its value hinges on how effectively businesses apply it. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has therefore announced new partnerships to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) build the necessary digital capabilities.
"The digital economy contributes to nearly 18% of Singapore’s GDP. Despite the global uncertainty, we expect technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), to continue to drive quality economic growth," says Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How at the Asia Tech x Enterprise event.
He continues: "Our SMEs continue to show strong digital adoption, with more than 7,200 businesses embracing AI-enabled, integrated and cloud-based solutions in the past year. Building on this momentum, I am happy to share that IMDA is launching three new partnerships, in support of the Digital Enterprise Blueprint."
Among the new partners is Alibaba Cloud, which will provide support to raise cloud and AI capabilities of up to 3,000 SMEs and digital solution providers through its Digital Accelerator Programme. It will equip businesses with practical cloud experience and technical resources, including support through cloud credits, technical training workshops, expert consultations, and trial access to Alibaba’s Cloud AI Model Studio.
To further promote generative AI adoption, Prudential (in partnership with Republic Polytechnic) will produce a series of up to 10 bite-sized explainer videos on generative AI tailored for SMEs. The first two videos on GenAI-enabled Customer Engagement Chatbots and GenAI-enabled Sales & Marketing Content Creation will be available on IMDA’s CTO-as-a-Service platform for SMEs, and the remaining videos will be rolled out progressively in the second half of 2025.
Prudential will also host up to four workshops on IMDA’s pre-approved generative AI solutions. These complementary workshops will be conducted by Prudential’s generative AI domain experts and Republic Polytechnic lecturers.
See also: Grab makes its move to become ‘AI-first with heart’
“We aim to equip SMEs with the knowledge and skills to apply generative AI meaningfully in their businesses. These efforts are part of the GenAI XPonential programme, delivered in partnership with IMDA, to help SMEs innovate, grow, and stay competitive in today’s digital economy,” says Ben Tan, chief distribution officer of Prudential Singapore.
As for ST Engineering, it will provide up to 2,000 SMEs with a one-time complimentary cyber threat scanning service for 10 endpoints through IMDA’s CTO-as-a-Service platform, under the SME CyberResilience programme. Following the assessment, SMEs will receive a comprehensive post-assessment report with detailed recommendations, along with access to a cyber analyst for further guidance and support.
ST Engineering will also hold cybersecurity awareness events to educate SMEs on the latest threat landscape and strategies to bolster cyber defence.
See also: Singapore shoppers embrace AI while eyeing fraud risks: Adyen
“We are supporting SMEs in improving their cyber posture as part of our broader mission to fortify the entire ecosystem. We will continue to explore new initiatives and partnerships to help SMEs safeguard against evolving cyber threats,” says Goh Eng Choon, president of Cyber at ST Engineering.
The Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB) brings together various stakeholders in the ecosystem to provide SMEs and workers with the right expertise, resources, networks and technologies. According to the IMDA, over 10,000 enterprises have benefited from DEB since its launch in May 2024.
Helping digitally mature SMEs go further
IMDA is also strengthening its partnerships with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft under the IMDA’s GenAI x Digital Leaders initiative to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies like generative AI among digitally mature SMEs.
The expanded collaboration will deliver twice the number of tech discovery workshops and personalised tech deep-dive sessions. With access to the latest tools with pre-built generative AI modules, enterprises can expect to halve the solution development costs and time required.
AWS and Microsoft will also provide enhanced access to technical expertise, including subject matter experts and model developers, as well as essential resources such as compute power and cloud credits. This will enable digitally mature SMEs to transform their strategic business needs and objectives into practical generative AI solutions more efficiently and cost-effectively.
More than 1,000 enterprises and up to 500 projects can benefit from this in the coming year.
To stay ahead of the latest tech trends, click here for DigitalEdge Section
Since its 2024 launch, IMDA’s GenAI x Digital Leaders initiative has helped over 200 enterprises gain deeper technical understanding and expert guidance on deploying generative AI, with support from AWS and Microsoft.
IMDA is currently supporting 50 digitally mature SMEs with project implementations that generate an estimated productivity increase of as high as 50% and annual cost savings of up to $300,000.
Strengthening the AI talent pipeline
To boost efforts to build Singapore’s AI talent pipeline, IMDA has secured 400 local AI Practitioner roles through collaborations with companies such as AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Singtel. This is available through the TechSkills Accelerator’s (TeSA) Company-Led Training programme.
Additionally, IMDA is partnering with AI Singapore (AISG) and the industry to launch two new frontier training programmes, which will provide another 400 AI practitioner job and training opportunities for locals.
The first is an AI Apprenticeship Programme (Industry), which will equip locals with critical AI, data and machine learning skills as well as offer the opportunity to hone their skills in real-world projects. Set to launch in June 2025, the six-month programme aims to train 300 AI Practitioners in batches over two years. Upon completion, trainees will be ready for hiring by AI centres of excellence and leading companies.
The second is the Pinnacle AI Industry Programme, which is expected to be launched in the second half of this year. The intensive six-month full-time programme will upskill 100 local AI Practitioners in frontier companies into expert model builders over three years.
Beyond that, AISG launched a Pan-Southeast Asia AI Developer Challenge to encourage developers to build practical AI solutions that can bring meaningful impact to society and the region.
(Updated at 4.25pm to include quotes from Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How)
