GOH Address by MOS Jasmin Lau at Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Tech Symposium

President, SCCCI, Mr Kho Choon Keng. 62nd Technology Committee Chairman, Mr Mark Lee. 62nd Technology Committee Vice Chairman, Mr Lim Chee Kean. Distinguished Guests. Good morning.

Thank you for having me here today, for SCCCI’s inaugural Tech Symposium.

I’m sure that, by now, all of you appreciate that digital transformation and AI are important to support growth.

1. And that technologies like AI and cybersecurity are among our most powerful tools to unlock and secure the potential of our people and businesses.

2. If you don’t, perhaps I may need to come by to give a few more speeches to encourage all of us to start on this journey together.

I was very glad to see that this Symposium’s theme is “Innovate to Accelerate: Practical Tech for SME Growth”. For two reasons:

First – the focus on SMEs.

1. This is an important agenda. Not just for individual SMEs, which face pressures on various fronts like productivity, efficiency, customer expectations, and competition.

2. But by extension, for Singapore. SMEs are the backbone of our economy, forming 99% of our enterprises, and employing over 70% of our workforce.

3. I’m glad that 95% of our SMEs in Singapore have adopted at least one digital solution, and the usage of AI has tripled to about 15% between 2023 and 2024.

4. But we can and must do better.

Second – the focus on practicality.

1. In this space, it is easy to get swept up in chasing the hype. At every conference we go to nowadays, somebody is talking about AI. All these terms feel very exciting but most of us are still wondering how these things work. Coming here and realizing this symposium is about practical application is indeed very encouraging.

   1. Some of you will remember that a few years ago, augmented reality, metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were all the rage. Investments were pouring in, and everyone was trying to find the “killer app”.

   2. These technologies are still far from mainstream adoption. Perhaps because the right use-cases, where they can uniquely unlock or create value at justifiable costs, have not yet been found.

2. And while there is certainly space to explore emerging technologies, it is equally important that that we approach digital transformation in a practical and pragmatic way.

So, in this spirit, I wanted to share my reflections on the three enduring and practical steps that have repeatedly come up in my digital transformation conversations with business leaders, and within the government.

And I hope you will take away with confidence that SMEs are more than able to follow these steps and succeed, as well.

The first step, is to begin.

1. I am sure you all know the Chinese saying – 千里之行, 始于足下(qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià). A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

2. Similarly, a business’s digital transformation begins when it takes that first step.

When I speak to many business leaders, they will tell me that they do not want to be the first adopter. They want to follow someone who has done it right. I often share with them that I might not understand the pressures of an SME leader. But one thing I’m sure of is, if you cannot be the first, please do not be the last. You can watch and observe but take that first step as early as you can so you do not lose out and have to catch up with everyone else later on.

Many people worry about laying out all the options or finding an ideal solution. But I urge you to start small and find something specific to work on.

1. Ask yourself some basic, focused questions to find out what problems are worth solving.

   1. What is my biggest pain point? What is my largest cost driver when it comes to operations? What is my longest and most tedious process?

2. Then, ask yourself, why not use digital technologies or AI to help in this?

Some of your colleagues have found that it is useful to apply digital technologies to highly repetitive tasks that take your team a lot of time – things like invoicing, customer inquiries, inventory checks.

Consider your fellow SCCCI member, Auto Machinery Singapore – a motorcycle spare-parts retailer.

1. For years, every customer query meant flipping through pages upon pages of physical catalogue by hand. It worked, but it was slow.

2. They could have kept doing things the old way. But they decided to try something different.

3. Through SCCCI's AI Enablement Programme, they worked with NYP student Yu Xiang to build an Optical Character Recognition system that digitises their catalogues.

4. The outcome?

   1. They have saved 180 man-hours a month. Their staff just need to type in a keyword, to find the part in seconds.

   2. And the partnership was so successful that Auto Machinery Singapore and Yu Xiang have co-founded a startup to help other motorcycle shops do the same.

5. They started with one specific problem. One experiment. And it changed their business.

6. For students who are growing up in our education system today, this is extremely powerful. They learn AI in schools, but the chance to try it out, to work on a real problem statement in industry sets them apart from many of their peers. For all of you here today, I want to thank you in advance for opening up these opportunities for our students in the years to come. It helps them gain a little bit more domain experience and gives them the confidence that technology doesn't replace them. In fact, it will strengthen their value in future.

7. You will hear more about their journey later today.

The good news is that you don’t need to figure this out alone. There are many government agencies ready to help, and many of our schemes are being refined as we go along, because we understand that in every industry, the problems and challenges that you face will be different.

1. Under the Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB), we have programmes like SMEs Go Digital, which provides step-by-step guidance for your digitalisation journey.

   • The CTO-as-a-Service platform provides you with a "Go Digital Advisor", that helps to match solutions to your business pain points in just three clicks.

   • It also offers a deeper dive through key business areas like Sales & Marketing, Customer Service, Operations, and Human Resources, to help you identify your top three business gaps and recommended pre-approved tools.

   • Nowadays, many of these pre-approved digital tools do not require complex IT systems to adopt, and more tools are becoming AI-enabled. So they are getting increasingly easier to use in your work systems.

2. Our host today, SCCCI, is one of our DEB partners, and helps many SMEs in their digitalisation journey.

   • Besides the AI Enablement Programme, there is also one-to-one advisory and guidance on the Go Digital Advisor at SCCCI’s SME Centre.

   • As well as hands-on workshops for SMEs can try out pre-approved AI tools under the CTO-as-a-Service platform.

The resources and support are there. You just need to take that first step.

The second step, is to refine.

1. So, my second Chinese saying for today is: 欲穷千里目，更上一层楼 (yù qióng qiānlǐ mù, gèng shàng yì céng lóu).

2. That is, to see a thousand miles, you must ascend yet one more floor.

3. We must continually refine our skills, elevate our capabilities and support each other, if we want to go higher.

In today’s world, digital and AI tools are indeed getting much more accessible, intuitive, and easier to use.

1. But having the technology is ultimately not much help at all, if you do not have the talent that is able and willing to use it.

So, what can you then do, to refine the skills of your people?

1. One clear “no-regrets” move is to invest in learning and relearning in your organisation.

   • We must all learn how to work with digital and AI, it will define our future lives and workplaces. The pace of development is only going to increase, so cultivating a lifelong learning mindset is a must for everyone.

Again, there are many avenues for you to build these capabilities.

1. Since 2016, the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative has been offering a wide range of hands-on training programmes to help non-tech professionals build industry-relevant technical skills and AI fluency.

2. We have been working with Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) like SCCCI to enable SMEs like you to access technology more easily, such as through starter kits and shared expertise.

3. In particular, I want to highlight that SCCCI is a founding member of the new Cyber Resilience Centre (CRC). This will provide a one-stop shop for SMEs to strengthen their cyber resilience, and we have inaugural CRC Cyber Plus Partner Clinics available over these two days.

SCCCI has been instrumental in making it easy for SMEs to begin, and to sharpen your teams’ technical expertise through numerous programmes and courses over the year.

But let me also add that your team takes their cues from you. So, I encourage you to lead from the front, and be the chief learner in your organisation.

1. Even our Ministers in Singapore have undergone training in AI and digital product development.

2. We had two training sessions towards the end of last year, and I have no doubt that we will need another round pretty soon!

3. I see a full range of workshops available in the afternoon, on AI and Digitalisation 2.0, Digital Enterprise Blueprint, and IoT Problem Discovery. I hope you fully utilise these to learn and lead from the front.

The third step, is to persist.

1. And my last saying for today is 不积跬步，无以至千里 (bù jī kuǐ bù, wú yǐ zhì qiān lǐ). Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles.

2. Every meaningful and successful transformation requires that we persist through the journey, until we reach our destination.

There is no doubt that, in this journey, there will be costs. There will be setbacks. There will be frustrations. It will take time, effort and steadfast commitment from leadership to see this through.

So how can we persist?

1. First, foster a culture of experimentation.

   • Allow for small failures. When something doesn’t work, ask "What did we learn?", not "Who is to blame?". This mindset shift is crucial to enabling change to happen.

   • We launched the GenAI Sandbox in 2024, allowing SMEs to experiment with GenAI solutions for various business processes.

   • And we found that the common trait among successful SMEs from the Sandbox was their willingness to experiment, to test the value of GenAI solutions in different business processes, and to persist and find what works for them.

2. Second, build organisational systems, not just tech solutions.

   • Focus on creating adaptable digital workflows and a learning culture that will outlast any single piece of software or hardware.

   • I have been focusing on this at GovTech, where technologies can become legacy over the years as coding languages change and engineers who built them retired.

   • But the key is in thinking beyond the technology. Think about the mindsets, the culture, the organisation systems that are necessary for innovations and changes to happen.

This is true of organisations big or small. Technologies will come and go, but building a strong foundation and being persistent in your efforts will carry you through any transformation. And building a stronger team, better individuals, and deep foundations will help you persist along your journey.

So let me leave you with these three steps and corresponding sayings.

1. Firstly, you need to begin somewhere: 千里之行, 始于足下 (qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià). A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Start somewhere. Start specific. Start now. Start finding a problem statement you have in your company.

2. Secondly, you need to refine your skills: 欲穷千里目，更上一层楼 (Yù qióng qiānlǐ mù, gèng shàng yì céng lóu). To see a thousand miles, you must ascend yet one more floor. You need to invest in your people and in your own learning. Continue refining your skills across the whole organisation and remember to lead from the front.

3. Lastly, you need to persist through the journey: 不积跬步，无以至千里 (bù jī kuǐ bù, wú yǐ zhì qiān lǐ). Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles. Be patient. Be methodical. Stay the course and find the success at the end of your journey.

And I’m glad to see SCCCI taking more steps to help support SMEs - through the MOUs for Digital 2.0 and AI Enablement.

I hope you to take advantage of this support, accelerating your digitalisation and AI adoption journey, and tap on SCCCI’s pilot initiatives to transform into a future-ready business, just like Auto Machinery Singapore did.

I wish you all a productive symposium. Thank you.