The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has unveiled a set of industry partnerships aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adopt artificial intelligence, Marketing-Interactive reported. The initiatives, announced on Oct 13 at SMEs Go Digital Day, bring in Singtel’s International Digital Services, Salesforce and Beyondsoft.
Getting data in order first
The largest of the new schemes, the Singtel Stack-EZ AI Data Enablement Programme, will give up to 10,000 eligible SMEs six months of free access to SPACE, Singtel’s new AI-powered document management tool. The two-year programme also includes AI capability-building workshops. Once the free period ends, firms can continue using SPACE on a subscription basis.
The programme focuses on helping businesses organise their documents and records before layering AI on top. “A strong foundation for AI adoption starts with well-organised and structured business information,” said Johnson Poh, assistant chief executive of IMDA’s Enterprise Transformation and Innovation Group.
Slack trials and curated tools
Under a separate Slack AI Launchpad with Salesforce, 1,000 SMEs will receive a complimentary two-month trial of Slack Business+, including its AI agent features, along with two workshops and support to build at least one AI-enabled workflow.
Beyondsoft’s Tech Bridge Programme will offer up to 1,000 SMEs a curated catalogue of AI solutions with free 60-day trials, starting with the retail, wholesale and food and beverage sectors. The partnerships sit alongside Grab’s existing AI programme for SMEs, which targets 10,000 businesses in F&B, retail and e-commerce through GrabAcademy.
Closing the adoption gap
The push comes as smaller firms continue to trail larger companies. Citing IMDA’s Singapore Digital Economy Report 2026, the report said AI adoption among SMEs rose from 14.5 per cent in 2024 to 23.4 per cent in 2025, compared with 70.4 per cent for large local enterprises. Among SMEs that had adopted AI, 87.6 per cent reported productivity and process improvements, while 44 per cent cited cost reductions.
IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital platform now lists more than 100 curated global AI tools, and 55 per cent of its pre-approved solutions are AI-enabled, ahead of an earlier 50 per cent target.
What’s next
IMDA is aiming for at least 70 per cent of pre-approved solutions on the platform to be AI-enabled within two years. Neither IMDA nor Singtel has said how many businesses have signed up for the new programmes so far.
