ED 52 (Nov-Dec 2013)

Dedicated
agency for
SMEs
Of the myriad issues raised during
the SME Convention organised by
the Singapore Business Federation
(SBF) on 28 October 2013, the
call for a dedicated agency to deal
with SME matters was raised by
business leaders. SME owners also
beseeched the Government to help
them more in stemming exorbitant
rises in rental costs as well as
assistance in helping SMEs expand
overseas.
Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State
for Trade & Industry, who was the
guest-of-honour for the event held
at Resorts World Sentosa, said that
currently, there are many government
agencies working closely to provide
assistance to SMEs. Different
government agencies also manage
different assistance schemes for
SMEs. These include SPRING
Singapore, IE Singapore, JTC Corp
and the Inland Revenue Authority
of Singapore, amongst others.
Perhaps, Mr Teo further added, a
“more aligned and consolidated
account management structure”
NEWS & EVENTS
is in order, whereby there is only
one point of contact for the SMEs
as compared to the multitude of
different avenues.
The Government will continue
to explore which arrangement is
more suitable for SMEs, a “work in
progress” with regards to whether a
new government agency dedicated
to SMEs should be established. E
Mobile Loyalty
and Rewards
The advent of social media
and increasingly-powerful
smartphones has ushered in a
new age of commerce where
purchases can be made on the
go at any time. Consumers are
no longer conned to physical
brick-and-mortar establishments
to obtain their desired goods
and chattels; they can simply do
so with a tap of their nger. The
businesses of today must be
able to leverage on this trend to
secure greater market share on
the information superhighway
in order to stay competitive and
relevant.
The Infocomms Development
Authority of Singapore (IDA) held
a sharing session on 2 October
2013 to a crowd of 85 business
owners and key decision-makers.
The discussions focused mainly
on mobile rewards and loyalty,
how businesses can rst attract
consumers to their e-commerce
platforms and keep them coming
back for more through tailored
loyalty programmes. This could
be as simple as the accumulation
of three virtual “vouchers” to
redeem a freebie at the store’s
physical outlet, or could be as
elaborate as a credit system used
for future spending in the online
store.
The online realm is a potential
hinterland for SMEs, especially for
new start-ups, but successfully
capitalising on mobile
e-commerce takes precision,
strategy and keen acumen, just
like a traditional business. E
NOV DEC 2013
ENTREPRENEURS’ DIGEST
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