Budget 2023: Industry players applaud government's business support initiatives 

Amongst measures included in the budget was the extension of the Enterprise Innovation Scheme.

Industry players from different sectors including financial services, human resources, and information technology, have hailed measures supporting businesses under the 2023 budget, particularly the extension of the Enterprise Innovation Scheme, the top-up to the National Productivity Fund, and the introduction of  Jobs-Skills Integrators Programme.

Here’s what they have to say about the three initiatives:

Andy Lee, Cisco Singapore and Brunei
Managing Director

“We are glad that the new measures announced in the Budget such as the National Productivity Fund and the Enterprise Innovation Scheme will enable businesses to progress in their innovative and digital capabilities to leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. This will open new channels for growth for Singapore and help it build resilience in the digital age, particularly as new cyber threats emerge, and the threat landscape evolves. The government’s support for enterprises in building further research and innovation capabilities will enhance their competitiveness and further stimulate the job market. We are encouraged by Singapore's leadership in recognising that innovation is required to unlock its potential.
 
“Real transformation only happens when we bring people along with us. As Singapore moves to a digital future, there needs to be a concerted effort in building a future-ready workforce. As announced in the Budget, the institutions appointed as Job Skills Integrators will play a critical role in engaging enterprises to understand and meet their manpower and skills gaps. We believe this will help businesses nurture the next generation of talent and power the country’s next phase of growth. We look forward to seeing more training and career development initiatives specific to digital skills in the form of public-private partnerships as we continue to gear up our workforce.”

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Reshmi Khurana, Kroll
Managing Director and Head of South East Asia

“The new Enterprise Innovation Scheme also allows significant tax deductions for companies that conduct R&D and register intellectual property in Singapore. Companies will need to heavily rely on smart usage of technology to take advantage of these schemes for cost efficiencies. However, with increasing reliance on technology, a critical part of digitalisation readiness is ensuring that companies have organisational structures focused on building digital trust within the company, especially within more vulnerable industries that handle vast amounts of data, such as fintech and cryptocurrency firms. A good way to also build digital trust is by investing in the education of staff, partners, and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the associated risks of digitalisation are managed,” 

Sarita Singh, Stripe
Revenue Growth Lead, Southeast Asia

“With the slower economic growth, most businesses would default to cost-cutting measures for survival. However, ambitious businesses should use the time to innovate and find opportunities to create stronger cost efficiencies and maximise revenue. One area of opportunity is the digitisation of financial processes, which the government can encourage Singapore businesses to take on with their support for innovation-focused initiatives such as the National Productivity Fund and Enterprise Innovation Scheme…We believe more SMEs will be able to digitalise further by tapping into global financial infrastructure and scaling globally, which will ultimately increase innovation, and productivity and grow the digital economy for Singapore.”

Cecily Ng, Salesforce Singapore & Taiwan
Senior Vice President and General Manager

“The government’s commitment to bringing together industry partners and training providers via the job-skills integrators programme is a necessary step to ensure that training leads to favourable employment outcomes. These joint efforts across the ecosystem are needed to capture the potential of Singapore’s emerging and diverse talent pool, drive resilience and growth, and enhance business competitiveness. We must collectively work towards lowering the barriers to entry to tech roles and leveraging untapped talent in the workforce. “