SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES
MPs also highlighted the importance of ensuring that small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are not left behind in AI adoption. They pointed out that while many of these businesses are open to adopting AI, they face structural gaps and uncertainty.
Ms Lau noted that many SMEs have raised concerns that they cannot afford to be “guinea pigs” in AI adoption.
“They have many personal experiences of trying out new technologies and then realising that the technologies became outdated too fast, and they are right to be cautious,” she said.
As such, the government will create lower-risk and structured ways for SMEs to experiment, she said, adding that the government is refining its funding scheme. Initially, the barrier was set-up costs, which are already subsidised.
Now, the barrier is capability and workflow redesign. Funding support will hence shift accordingly towards implementation, business process redesign, rescaling, and the “much harder work” of changing how an organisation actually operates, she said.
“We will make sure we are accountable, but we must also make sure that our SMEs – most of whom are genuine and often already tight on resources – we must make sure they do not get turned away too early by onerous and cumbersome paperwork,” she said.
Nominated MP Mark Lee said that SMEs may lack the capacity for AI integration. AI implementation is expensive, and costs include software, data restructuring and upskilling workers, among others, he said.
“Big firms have both the talent and financial muscle to spread this fixed cost. SMEs often cannot – if transformation succeeds, gains are gradual. If it fails, losses are immediate.”
He added that support for AI adoption must hinge on clarity, or SMEs may misjudge eligibility or misallocate resources.
