SME Centre at SMF

18/06/2026

📝 are the unseen foundation that keeps businesses steady and reliable.

They work quietly in the background—but their real value goes beyond keeping daily operations on track. When local businesses adopt national specifications and technical references, they gain a common technical language that international partners recognise and trust. This makes it easier for smaller firms to plug into global supply chains and navigate overseas regulatory approvals with less friction.

In short, compliance isn't just a checklist. Done right, it becomes a springboard for market expansion. 🌍

Wondering how your can use national standards to grow? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) guide your next step.

How Singapore standards and conformance practices help Singapore’s key sectors improve safety, reliability, innovation and global competitiveness.

17/06/2026

A business thrives on its readiness to adapt.

📱 Grab’s Full House Mission highlights how discoverability is shaping F&B performance in . With 84 per cent of local users using the app to discover new restaurants and stores, visibility on digital platforms can influence both online orders and in-store footfall. 🥗🏪

Launched in with Enterprise Singapore, the initiative aims to help small F&B businesses strengthen their presence on the platform. It includes workshops on digital marketing and adoption, roundtable discussions, biannual industry insights reports, and monthly neighbourhood outreach sessions.

Selected precincts such as Tanjong Pagar, Holland Village and Jalan Besar will also benefit from dedicated campaigns designed to increase footfall. For business owners, the message is clear: stronger visibility, better use of data-driven insights, and sharper digital ex*****on can support more informed business decisions.

🔎 How visible is your F&B where customers are searching? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) help you turn insight into action.

Discover how Grab's new initiative helps food and beverage merchants increase visibility on its platform and attract more customers. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

17/06/2026

💪🏻 Growing together when the world grows apart.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong noted that ’s Q1 2026 growth reached 6 per cent, above the earlier 4.6 per cent estimate. He also cautioned that the global outlook remains uncertain, with inflationary pressures expected to rise, alongside ongoing questions about how may reshape the job market.

📝 The Government has recently reviewed its economic strategies, with recommendations to sharpen Singapore’s value proposition and strengthen resilience across both the public and private sectors. For business leaders, this underscores the need to stay adaptable as change becomes faster and more complex.

How is your preparing for a more uncertain operating environment? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) support your journey. 🚀

The government still expects inflationary pressures to rise, and there is also uncertainty about how AI will impact the job market, he says Read more at The Business Times.

16/06/2026

👨🏻‍💻 Talent strategy is shifting from to capability.

Hiring sentiment in has softened, with many employers holding staffing levels or planning reductions. However, pay continues to rise for skills that support and efficiency. A recent employment outlook survey by recruitment firm ManpowerGroup found that two-thirds of companies are willing to pay a salary premium for artificial intelligence (AI) literacy. Employers are also offering higher pay for soft skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication.

For business leaders, is becoming more selective, with a stronger focus on skills that deliver measurable impact. At the same time, AI adoption is accelerating, while training gaps and employee concerns remain important issues to manage. 📝

💡 Thinking about where to focus your development efforts? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) help you plan ahead.

Discover how Singapore companies are adjusting hiring plans while offering higher wages for AI and soft skills. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

16/06/2026

What does it take to make workplace safety and health work—not just in policy, but in practice?

Join industry leaders and practitioners at the 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗦𝗛 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 to explore practical ways to strengthen safety culture, address emerging risks, and build healthier, safer workplaces.
Centred on the theme, “𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗦𝗛 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀”, the Conference focuses on turning insights into action and achieving meaningful workplace safety and health outcomes.

📅 Date: 23 July 2026 (Thursday)
🕘 Time: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
📍 Venue: Marina Bay Sands Ballroom
🔗 Register now: https://singaporewshconference.sg/

Key takeaways:
* Practical ways to embed safety into everyday operations
* Better strategies to anticipate and manage workplace risks
* Actionable insights to enhance safety, resilience, and organisational performance

SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) is proud to be a supporting partner of the Singapore WSH Conference 2026.

⌯⌲ DM us for an invitation code to enjoy an exclusive preferential rate of S$550 per ticket (inclusive of GST).

Let’s build safer workplaces together. 💪👷‍♂️

Workplace Safety and Health Council

The Singapore WSH Conference 2026

15/06/2026

🤖 AI is moving fast. Is your keeping up?

A recent warning from Anthropic's co-founder at the Vatican carries a sobering truth: AI could displace human labour at a massive scale.

But for SMEs, the goal shouldn't be replacement—it must be strategic augmentation.

How do we build an AI-driven business while keeping our people resilient? 💡

The good news: businesses don't have to navigate this alone. There's a strong ecosystem of grants and upskilling support to help make this transition responsibly. It's not about choosing between AI and humans—it's about using to multiply human impact.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/aiprogresshumanpurpose/

Want a practical, real-world roadmap to navigate this shift?

Join us at the North West Corporate Exchange 2026: AI Frontier!
📅 1 July 2026 (Wednesday) 🕒 12:30 PM – 5:30 PM
📍 Republic Polytechnic (LT-E5, East Agora), 9 Woodlands Ave 9, Singapore 738964
✨ Includes a networking lunch with Mr Alex Yam, Mayor of North West CDC District

Learn how to pivot from AI curiosity to tangible business results with insights from SME Centre@NorthWest, Republic Polytechnic, Hashmeta, AUMOVIO Singapore, and Axiom IT Solutions.

👇 Grab your complimentary event pass via the link in the comments below!

11/06/2026

🛒 Retail sales in continued to grow in April 2026. 📈

Retail sales rose by 5.4 per cent year-on-year to reach $4.3 billion, following a revised 4.6 per cent increase in March. Eleven of the fourteen retail categories recorded , led by petrol service stations, which saw a 14.4 per cent increase. Recreational goods and motor vehicles also posted strong gains.

That said, not all segments moved in the same direction. Department stores, as well as food and alcohol retailers, experienced slight declines. Meanwhile, online sales remained significant, accounting for 15.4 per cent of total retail sales. Digital channels were particularly important for computer and telecommunications equipment retailers, where online sales accounted for 58.8 per cent of total sales, and furniture and household equipment retailers, where online sales made up 33.1 per cent.

The data signals resilient consumer spending and underscores the growing importance of digital channels in shaping retail demand.

How is your business responding to changing demand patterns? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) support your development.

Total retail sales rose 5.4% YoY in April 2026, extending the 4.6% growth recorded in March, according to the Department of Statistics.

10/06/2026

The future of work isn't just about technology. It's about the people behind it. 💻

is taking a human-centric approach to and artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on job redesign and workforce reskilling over worker displacement. At the Nomura Investment Forum Asia 2026, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo highlighted the Government's commitment to supporting 10,000 businesses, including , in integrating AI tools safely into their operations.

💡 Under the National AI Impact Programme, Singapore also aims to develop 100,000 professionals who combine domain expertise with hands-on technical skills. Together, these initiatives give businesses the structural support they need to keep pace with change and tap into the broader ASEAN digital economy.

How are you equipping your team to manage new technological workflows? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (tag: Singapore Manufacturing Federation) navigate this with you. 💫

The minister says Singapore’s approach places people at the centre of adopting the technology Read more at The Business Times.

09/06/2026

🚀 Sustainable business relies on a stable and supported .

The latest tag: Ministry of Manpower report shows that 's real wages rose by 4 per cent in 2025 as inflation eased to 0.9 per cent. Although nominal wage growth slowed to 4.9 per cent, workers benefited from stronger purchasing power.

📈 Favourable economic conditions meant that 83.1 per cent of companies remained profitable. However, smaller firms in sectors such as financial services and wholesale trade faced greater cost pressures than larger corporations. This led to more cautious business decisions, with fewer firms offering salary increments and more choosing to maintain current wage levels. Employee retention remains the primary reason businesses continue to increase wages.

leaders must carefully balance cost management with retention strategies to remain resilient.

💰 Is your workforce strategy aligned with current wage trends? Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) support your business growth with practical insights.

Fewer firms increase salaries last year, though the proportion of profitable establishments grows Read more at The Business Times.

09/06/2026

🌱 starts with lowering the barriers to taking the first step.

's Green 100 initiative, launched by the Council for a Competitive Climate Transition, gives smaller firms a no-cost pathway into sustainability reporting. Through the Gprnt digital platform, companies can complete a basic environmental disclosure in around ten minutes, aligned with the new TR 149:2026 framework launched by Enterprise Singapore through the Singapore Standards Council. 🧩

Participating companies receive a digital Green 100 badge, get listed on a supplier registry, and gain access to green procurement tenders and sustainable financing opportunities.

Find out more about Green 100 here 👇
https://www.green100.sg/

Are you ready to take that first step towards sustainable operations?

Book a complimentary 1-to-1 business advisory session here: https://www.smecentre-smf.sg/contact-us and let SME Centre@SMF (Singapore Manufacturing Federation) support you through every stage of your transition.

The Green 100 initiative is about lowering barriers and raising incentives for smaller firms to become sustainable, said Singapore climate ambassador Ravi Menon.