Singapore agencies including Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and AI Singapore (AISG) has partnered with tech giant Microsoft to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) boost productivity with artificial intelligence (AI) over the next two years.
The company announced the launch of the second wave of the Microsoft AI Pinnacle Program, with new initiatives to scale adoption of AI-powered solutions that will have transformative impact on businesses.
As part of the new deal signed today, the partners will help SMEs to deploy Microsoft Copilot and other customised generative AI (GenAI) solutions to strengthen their technology capabilities.
Microsoft Singapore's managing director, Lee Hui Li said the company aims to support organisations of all sizes and varying levels of digital maturity to adopt and embrace AI technology to achieve productivity gains and tangible business impact.
Microsoft and LinkedIn’s 2024 Work Trend Index revealed that knowledge workers in Singapore are ahead of their global peers when it comes to the use of AI, with close to nine in 10 (88 percent) in Singapore already using AI at work, compared to 75 percent globally.
While 83 percent of Singaporean leaders believe their company needs to adopt AI to stay competitive, 68 percent of leaders worry their organisation’s leadership lacks a plan and vision to implement it.
Accelerating AI transformation
The Microsoft Copilot for SMEs program will support SMEs to deepen their AI capabilities across key business functions such as HR, finance, sales, and marketing.
It will also help to streamline processes, enhances productivity, and enables employees to focus on higher-value tasks – for better efficiency and improved outcomes for SMEs, which are often faced with limited IT and corporate resources.
Through the program, EnterpriseSG said it will defray 50 percent of the Microsoft Copilot license costs for eligible businesses for a 12-month usage period to support their adoption of the solution.
EnterpriseSG's assistant managing director (manufacturing), Soh Leng Wan said the agency will continue collaborating with partners like Microsoft, to spur AI adoption and development among SMEs to uplift competitiveness and scale up their businesses.
IMDA also plans to provide funding support under IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital program to eligible enterprises to develop and deploy their GenAI solutions.
Companies can access Microsoft’s network of tech partners and tools such as Azure OpenAI and Copilot, as well as get tech advice during the project implementation phase, it added.
