SME Centre at SICCI

23/10/2026

𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬

Expanding your business into a foreign market can be challenging, but with the right strategy, partners, and support, it doesn’t have to be.

On 7 October, SME Centre@SICCI partnered with TMG. -Taxmantra Global on an in-depth workshop for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) interested in expanding their businesses into the Indian market through the support of Global Capability Centres (GCCs).

The session started off with a presentation from our Centre’s business advisory manager, Mr Viknesh Venga, who highlighted the high potential of regional markets such as Southeast Asia and India. He mentioned the importance of tapping into overseas opportunities and how, through strategic alignment of business focus areas, operating mechanisms, and by tapping into key policies, SMEs can first evaluate their risks and readiness before making an informed decision to enter a foreign market such as India.

Afterwards, Mr Alok Patnia, CA, founder and managing partner of TMG Group and Mr Kenneth Ho, co-founder of the Singapore office of TMG Task, explored and discussed many useful market-entry strategies, regulatory considerations, foreign government support, and talent opportunities local SMEs can use to navigate cross-border growth and establish a brand presence in India. They examined various GCC structuring options best suited for different types of businesses and guided the attendees in reviewing their operating models from different dimensions to identify pain points inhibiting business growth. The workshop concluded with a panel discussion of our speakers, who took the time to listen to the attendees’ challenges and discussed potential measures to circumvent these issues and develop their businesses further.

Working with established international partners, SME Centre@SICCI aims to unlock global opportunities for our SMEs by connecting them with the right expertise. We remain committed to not only guiding our SMEs to explore new markets beyond Singapore but also empowering them to scale sustainably to the next level.

22/10/2026

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬

We are pleased to see 𝗦𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲@𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗖𝗜’𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿, 𝗠𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗻𝗮𝗻, featured in The Straits Times in an article exploring how local SMEs can leverage decades of industry expertise to unlock new revenue opportunities.

The article highlights Mike’s work with Mr Vincent Teo, founder and owner of 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗟𝗮𝗯 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀, who was exploring the feasibility of bringing the company’s products, service models and customer relationships to overseas markets.

By assessing potential partners, distribution channels, regulatory requirements, market positioning and business risks together, Mike helped Vincent connect with key local and overseas partners and networks in markets such as Malaysia and Thailand. This laid the groundwork for Inter-Lab Products to evaluate which aspects of its successful Singapore business model could be replicated overseas and which needed to be adapted to suit new markets.

At SME Centre@SICCI, we support local SMEs at every stage of their overseas expansion journey, whether it’s from laying the groundwork before market entry to navigating the challenges of entering and growing in new markets. We remain committed to helping businesses make informed decisions, build the right connections and turn their expertise into new growth opportunities.

📰 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/home-grown-smes-turn-decades-expertise-into-new-revenue-streams-enterprise-singapore

Singapore SMEs are transforming expertise into new revenue by adopting AI, digital tools, and expanding regionally with support from Enterprise Singapore centres. Read more at straitstimes.com.

14/10/2026

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞

At our 24 September workshop, we invited SME owners to assess their artificial intelligence (AI) readiness and embark on a hands-on journey to build daily work task automations using Google Workspace Studio for their day-to-day business.

The workshop kicked off with Ms Deepa D/O Suppiah, Senior Business Advisor at SME Centre@SICCI, who went through with the attendees the importance of AI, automation, and digital transformation to scale their business sustainably. She emphasised this using case studies of enterprises that have started their digital adoption journey and also went through a step-by-step AI readiness assessment with the SMEs to enable them to gain a clearer view of where their businesses stand currently compared to other businesses, and where AI can help create meaningful and real impacts.

Afterwards, Ms Alpa Parmar, founder of Bots and Brand Works, guided the attendees in using the Google Workspace Studio platform to reduce repetitive administrative work, with no coding required. Participants learnt how to build automated tasks such as delivering a pre-meeting brief or action items pre- or post-call, and setting up a sales lead tracker that automatically identifies and classifies genuine leads from irrelevant cold pitches and non-business queries.

Besides assessing AI readiness to build working solutions, SME Centre@SICCI also introduced the various financial and government schemes available to SMEs and how the Centre stays true to its commitment to support SMEs as they embark on their journey towards greater sales and operational automation.

13/10/2026

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐀𝐈) 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰

SME Centre@SICCI, SAP, and NTT DATA Business Solutions recently came together to present an insightful workshop designed for business leaders and SMEs who wish to see real business impact by using AI and cloud ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) in daily operations. The session on 21 September highlighted innovative solutions from SAP and NTT DATA Business Solutions, alongside practical examples of how AI can be integrated into everyday workflows to improve productivity and enhance overall operational efficiency in SMEs.

Thank you to the speakers: Ms Amanda Tan, SAP Cloud ERP Solution Advisor and Mr Joni Wong Angkasa, Regional Head of Growth Solutions: AI, BDC - Partner Ecosystem Success at SAP; Mr Manoj Agrawal, Consulting Director and Ms Loo Yee Lim, Senior Business Manager at NTT DATA Business Solutions, for the engaging discussions and valuable exchange of ideas and solutions designed to support SMEs in their digital transformation and AI journey.

The workshop concluded with Mr Syed Ali, Senior Business Advisor at SME Centre@SICCI, who shared critical insights on how SMEs can future-proof their businesses through adopting relevant digital solutions and AI tools. He shared the underlying challenges SMEs often face when relying heavily on manual processes and operating with limited business insights, and emphasised that embracing digital transformation, AI, and globalisation can be the key to building a resilient and competitive business.

At SME Centre@SICCI, we remain committed to sustaining SMEs in their AI and digital transformation journey. We help SMEs identify practical growth opportunities and build on their digital capabilities so that they become not only an AI-driven business but also a human-led and resilient enterprise.

12/10/2026

𝐀𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

SME Centre@SICCI was privileged to be part of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry's (SICCI) Members Networking Evening on 1 October at Plume @ Singapore Flyer. The evening marked the first members' networking event after SICCI appointed their new Board of Directors for the term of 2026 to 2028.

The evening opened with a series of heart-warming addresses and remarks by SICCI Chairman, Mr Rajakumar Chandra; SICCI Membership Committee Chairman, Mr S. Venkita Padmanabhan; SICCI Vice-Chairmen, Mr JP Jaiswal and Mr Parthiban Murugaiyan, to thank the people who supported them through challenging times and to also talk about the aspirations the Chamber hope to achieve in the upcoming years. The programme was later concluded with an insightful presentation by our Centre’s business advisor, Mr Viknesh Venga, who shared with the attending business owners the positive impacts of using artificial intelligence to transform and unlock business potential in today’s business landscape.

The gathering brought together business leaders for a night of valuable conversations, shared perspectives, and opportunities to connect, and we thank you, SICCI, for this wonderful evening and great opportunity to collaborate and build on these connections so that our Centre continues to create more value for the small and medium enterprise community in Singapore.

05/10/2026

(𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩) 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈-𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐄𝐑𝐏

Transform your business into an autonomous enterprise with Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

As businesses grow, daily processes across finance, procurement and supply chains can become increasingly complex. Manual work, disconnected information, and limited data visibility can slow teams down, making it harder to respond to urgent tasks and limiting long-term growth.

In this workshop, SME Centre@SICCI and SAP will explore how to do business smarter with Cloud ERP, which make daily operations more intuitive, standardised, and efficient. Learn how Cloud ERP systems can support SMEs in determining the best course of action for their business to grow sustainably, and how they also combine business processes, data, and artificial intelligence into one centralised platform to support SMEs in approaching daily operations in a more simplified and autonomous way.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀
​​✅ ​​How Cloud ERP Makes Daily Operations More Intuitive, Standardised, and Efficient.
​​✅ ​​How Cloud ERP Supports SMEs in Transforming Your Business into an Autonomous Enterprise.
​​✅ ​​Explore Digital Platforms for Business Productivity and Government Schemes for Operational Automations.

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𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀
📅 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 22 October 2026 (Thursday)
🕑 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 2pm to 5pm (Registration from 1.30pm)
📍 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: SAP Singapore Office (30 Pasir Panjang Road, Level 3, Mapletree Business City S117440)

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://www.smecentre-sicci.sg/event/run-smarter-grow-faster-with-ai-powered-cloud-erp/

05/10/2026

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

A room full of lady bosses, different experiences, different challenges, but a shared ambition to grow.

On 30 September, SME Centre@SICCI was glad to be part of Her Voice, Our Chamber, organised by the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry's (SICCI) Sisterhood of Entrepreneurs (SHE). The evening created a safe and enabling space for women to speak, be heard and shape the strategies and future direction of SHE and SICCI, while sparking genuine conversations around the support women need to grow their businesses, strengthen their capabilities and turn ideas into meaningful action.

We would like to recognise SICCI Chairman, Mr Rajakumar Chandra, for encouraging a Chamber where every member has a voice, and to SHE Chairwoman, Ms Joyce Kingsly, together with SHE Vice Chairwoman, Ms Renuka Arora Bhagat, and the SHE Committee, for creating a thoughtful platform where women could openly share, connect and contribute to the future of SHE.

Our Centre's Business Advisory Manager, Ms Regina Lim, had the opportunity to share crucial business insights and strategies for SMEs to scale their businesses further and to enhance customer loyalty through structured approaches and programmes. She also highlighted the various available government schemes designed for local enterprises in productivity, internationalisation and business transformation.

We thank SHE and SICCI for this wonderful platform and for allowing SME Centre@SICCI to not only support women-led enterprises but also contribute to building a more inclusive business community that fosters supportive and sustainable growth.

At SME Centre@SICCI, we are proud to contribute to conversations that help turn ideas into opportunities and opportunities into growth.

01/10/2026

𝐀 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡.

Established in 1927, Teck Huat & Company Pte Ltd is a third-generation Singapore family business built on decades of experience in trading and distribution.

With support from SME Centre@SICCI, the company took on a more structured approach to market expansion, partnerships and operational growth that led to an increase of about 16.5% in revenue in just one year.

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/34bt7yh3

30/09/2026

(𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩) 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚

Discover how Singapore SMEs can leverage Global Capability Centres (GCCs) as a strategic pathway into the Indian market.

Brought to you by the SME Centre@SICCI and TMG TASK Pte Ltd (being part of TMG Group), this session will allow participants to learn about the various market opportunities, GCC structuring options, key regulatory considerations, and available government support for entry into the Indian market.

Industry specialists will also be present during an interactive panel discussion to share key insights into the business landscape in India.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀
​​✅ ​Understand How Global Capability Centres Support Singapore SMEs in Establishing a Presence in India.

​​✅ ​Navigate Cross-Border Regulations and Compliance on the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), Bilateral Transfer Pricing, and Talent Governance.

​​✅ Learn About Government Support Schemes and Diagnostic Tools Such As the Internationalisation Toolkit and the Market Readiness Assistance Grant, Designed To Help SMEs in Their Overseas Expansion Journey.

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𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀
📅 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 7 October 2026 (Wednesday)
🕑 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 2pm to 5.30pm (Registration from 1.45pm)
📍 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: SME Centre@SICCI (Level 2 Seminar Room, 31 Stanley Street, SICCI Building, S068740)

🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://www.smecentre-sicci.sg/event/beyond-borders-global-capability-centres-as-a-gateway-to-india/

28/09/2026

𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐀𝐈) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭

We recently had the opportunity to host an engaging AI workshop with our partner, Line8 and AGICO at the SME Centre@SICCI office on 17 September. The aim of the session was to explore how businesses can harness AI responsibly for daily operational efficiency while also safeguarding data and strengthening cybersecurity.

SME Centre@SICCI’s business advisor, Mr Thiru Damodharan, first highlighted the importance of the human element when SMEs use AI tools in reviewing and processing data for work. He emphasised that there should be three key layers of AI governance and due diligence: before use, before action, and after release. Although AI is powerful and efficient, human oversight and governance are essential to validate outputs, review decisions and retain authority to intervene when necessary. He also mentioned how important vendors' due diligence is in reviewing data inputs and outputs, prompts, and user access permissions to minimise the risk of data leakage. Having strong cyber resilience can help protect AI-enabled business processes as well.

Our partner, Line8, then introduced Claude as an example of a powerful AI platform designed to support SMEs in their daily operations. Through Line8's founder, Ms Ling Kai's guidance and demonstration, SMEs can streamline routine tasks through the clever use of customised skills, connectors, and plugins, or even a business owner's pre-set formulas to generate content or information tailored to their business needs. Some of these tasks can include identifying and consolidating invoices from emails, drafting replies after assessing customer queries, and generating estimated product and shipping costs based on customer requirements. When used appropriately and with relevant due diligence and human oversight, AI is an invaluable tool for supporting and enhancing an SME’s daily productivity.

As SMEs explore AI adoption needs and relevant digital solutions, SME Centre@SICCI continues to support our community with the resources and expertise they need to navigate these areas so that they can build business resilience and scale sustainably.