With expanded resources, SME Centres now have more to offer SMEs.
Running an SME is a challenging task. With limited resources, every bit of energy often goes into the day-to-day operations of the business, leaving little time or money to invest in longer-term initiatives. Yet it is exactly these initiatives – skills upgrading, productivity and process improvements, attaining standards – that are critical to the sustainable growth of an SME.
Recognising this, SPRING Singapore has ramped up its efforts to provide support to SMEs, and one of the strategies is to increase the number of touch points through the SME Centres (formerly known as Enterprise Development Centres, or EDCs). All five SME Centres have been given additional resources and manpower, and more satellite SME Centres are being planned to increase outreach and offer SMEs more in-depth assistance.
SMEs can turn to the advisors at the SME Centres for a wide range of support, including free business and productivity advice, business matching and networking. But perhaps one of the most valuable services is the help provided to tap government assistance available.
Many SMEs tend to shy away from government assistance, believing that the application processes are too complicated and not worth the effort. Yet, this could not be further from the truth. A typical scenario facing SMEs visiting an SME Centre would look like this: An advisor will sit down with a business owner to first understand their business needs before identifying business upgrading opportunities. Finally, the advisor will recommend relevant government assistance programmes. And this is all done free of charge.
In this way, SMEs can easily tap into government assistance schemes like the Innovation & Capability Voucher (ICV) scheme, which provides $5,000 to pay for services to help companies improve their business operations, and the Productivity & Innovation Credit (PIC) scheme, which offers tax deductions and cash payouts to support a company’s investments in innovation and productivity improvement.
Users of myBusiness are now able to get in touch with the SME Centre @ SCCCI by filling up an enquiry form located in the Grants section of the website. More details about grants can also be found there.
SME Centres
SME Centre @ ASM E
Association of Small and Medium
Enterprises (ASME)
167 Jalan Bukit Merah
Tower 4, #03-13
Singapore 150167
Tel: (65) 6513 0388
Email: enquiries@smecentre-asme.sg
Website: www.smecentre-asme.sg
SME Centre @ SCCCI
Singapore Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SCCCI)
47 Hill Street, #09-00
Singapore 179365
Tel: (65) 6337 8381
Fax: (65) 6339 0605
Email: enquiry@smecentre-sccci.sg
Website: www.smecentre-sccci.sg
SME Centre @ SICCI
Singapore Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SICCI)
SICCI Building
31 Stanley Street
Singapore 068740
Tel: (65) 6508 0147
Email: sme@smecentre-sicci.sg
Website: www.smecentre-sicci.sg
SM E Centre @ SMCCI
Singapore Malay Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SMCCI)
15 Jalan Pinang
Singapore 199147
Tel: (65) 6293 3822
Fax: (65) 6293 3905
Email: gadvisory@smecentre-smcci.sg
Website: www.smecentre-smcci.sg
SME Centre @ SMF
Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SM F)
2985 Jalan Bukit Merah
Singapore 159457
Tel: (65) 6826 3020
Fax: (65) 6826 3021
Email: query@smecentre-smf.sg
Website: www.smecentre-smf.sg
Reproduced with permission from SPRINGnews July 2013 Issue. Published by SPRING Singapore
