Singapore - Singapore's budding entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises now have a small-business resource to help them start, finance and grow their business. Today, a Web-based portal developed by the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Department of the World Bank Group was launched by Minister of State for Education & Trade and Industry Chan Soo Sen at the 2 nd SME Credit Bureau Conference, "Survival Business Tools for Your SME".
The Singapore Business Toolkit ( http://www.businesstoolkit.com.sg/ ) contains a large set of best-of-breed small business content (articles, interactive tools, business forms, software and online training resources) acquired through strategic partnerships with major international providers of small business content.
The resource was developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, to leverage information and communication technologies in order to provide SMEs with access to key business management information and training.
Infocredit D&B (S) Pte Ltd (ICD&B) is the local implementation partner that will manage the Singapore site and develop local content for the site.
The Toolkit boasts an easy-to-use Web interface that allows users to search or browse to locate the content they need. The programme also comes with a hands-on business training curriculum for SMEs.
Mr Laurence Carter, Director of IFC's SME Department: "To date, IFC has launched the SME Toolkit in 10 languages in more than 20 countries. SME Toolkit sites now collectively receive more than two million visits per year."
According to a recent analysis by IFC, 83 percent of users believe the Toolkit content is useful to SMEs, and approximately two-thirds consider the Toolkit to be one of the best in its class. Furthermore, two-thirds of users who visit a Toolkit site more than once report using it to improve their businesses.
Mr Carter added: "We believe the Singapore Business Toolkit is particularly well-suited to Singapore, where a large number of SMEs have fast, reliable Internet access, and Infocredit D&B is in an excellent position to bundle additional value-added content and services around the Toolkit platform to help benefit local
SMEs."
Mr Gary Law, Executive Director of ASME, said: "The Singapore Business Toolkit will definitely be a welcomed resource for both aspiring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs alike here in Singapore where the business environment is becoming increasingly competitive and operational costs are on a constant rise."
He added: "Local start-ups and small businesses can take advantage of the comprehensive business-centric information, solutions, resources and tools available on site to enhance their businesses as they look to grow and develop further."
Mr Png Cheong Boon, Deputy Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore, said: "The SME Credit Bureau launched last year aimed to facilitate SMEs' access to financing. The central database of credit-related data on SMEs enables potential lenders to make more informed decisions, thus increasing the chances of creditworthy SMEs securing credit."
"The Singapore Business Toolkit will be important to SMEs too as it will allow them to diagnose their areas of weaknesses and recommend possible solutions to improve their business performance. With the increasing number of Internet-savvy individuals in Singapore, the Singapore Business Toolkit will become a convenient business improvement resource tool for SMEs."
William Lim, Executive Director, Infocredit Holdings: "We are glad to be bringing the Singapore Business Toolkit to Singapore - our SMEs can now have world-class programs and solutions to help their businesses grow - all in the comfort of their offices."
The Singapore Business Toolkit was launched at the second SME Credit Bureau Conference. The conference is organised by ICD&B and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), and supported by SPRING and the IFC. ABN Amro is the event's exclusive sponsoring bank. The first conference in March last year featured the launch of the SME Credit Bureau.
The second SME Credit Bureau Conference features a host of eminent speakers who will address topics of SMEs' concerns, from access to financing and the latest funding programmes to credit advisory services and listing requirements on the Singapore Exchange.
Eminent speakers in the programme line-up include Mr Inderjit Singh, Chairman, Action Community for Entrepreneurship's (ACE) Finance Action Crucible and Mr Tan Suan Hui, Assistant Vice President, Listings, Singapore Exchange Ltd. |
