The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is stepping up efforts to help local businesses adopt emerging technologies.
It has announced new partnerships to expand the use of generative AI (Gen AI), cloud infrastructure, and cybersecurity tools among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As part of the Digital Enterprise Blueprint launched in May 2024, IMDA is collaborating with Alibaba Cloud, Prudential Singapore, and ST Engineering to support local SMEs in building digital capabilities.
The initiative has already benefitted over 10,000 enterprises to date.
Under the new agreements, Alibaba Cloud will support up to 3,000 SMEs and digital solution providers through its Digital Accelerator Programme, providing cloud credits, technical training, and trial access to AI tools.
Prudential, together with Republic Polytechnic, will produce explainer videos and conduct workshops to help SMEs better understand and adopt pre-approved Gen AI solutions.
Meanwhile, ST Engineering will provide free cyber threat scans and host awareness sessions for up to 2,000 SMEs in partnership with IMDA.
IMDA is also enhancing its GenAI x Digital Leaders programme with AWS and Microsoft to help digitally mature SMEs overcome barriers in adopting Gen AI.
Since its launch in 2024, the initiative has helped over 200 companies build technical knowledge and deploy Gen AI tools, leading to reported productivity improvements of up to 50% and cost savings of as much as S$300,000 a year.
The expanded programme aims to reach over 1,000 enterprises and support up to 500 projects in the coming year.
It will offer more workshops, personalised deep-dive sessions, and broader access to cloud resources and technical expertise to speed up solution development.
To address the growing demand for AI talent, IMDA will introduce two new training programmes in collaboration with AI Singapore.
Together, these efforts are expected to generate 800 job and training opportunities for locals in AI Practitioner roles.
The AI Apprenticeship Programme (Industry), launching in June 2025, will train 300 participants over two years, while the Pinnacle AI Industry Programme will offer advanced training for 100 AI professionals over three years.
In a separate initiative, AI Singapore has also launched the first Pan-Southeast Asia AI Developer Challenge to encourage the development of practical, scalable AI solutions using models like SEA-LION.
The challenge aims to foster regional collaboration and innovation across the developer community.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Who is Danny via Freepik
