Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have made outstanding progress in their efforts to transform their business through digital capabilities will be recognised with a new award.
NTUC U SME and United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched the SME Digital Leap Awards for SMEs on 3 October 2018.
The award recognises companies that have excelled in their digitalisation efforts across three areas: digital enablement, employee development and leadership direction.
The awards consist of three categories – micro-SMEs with 30 or fewer employees, companies with up to 100 employees and larger firms with up to 200 employees.
Separately, there will be a category for SME employees who have played an instrumental role in championing digitalisation efforts within their companies.
UOB Enterprise Banking Head Choo Kee Siong said that UOB is committed to enabling the growth of SMEs in Singapore by helping them overcome challenges.
“Through the awards, we hope to bring out best practices among our SMEs and in turn, encourage other firms to embark on their own digitalisation journey.”
NTUC U SME Director Yeo Guat Kwang said: “When we speak with our U SME partners, many share their challenges in keeping up with digital transformation. Some of them are keen but are unsure of how they can move forward, while others are still trying to see the value of digitalisation.
“We hope that the SME Digital Leap Awards will help to showcase early successes among our SMEs, especially on how workers can also participate in the SME transformation journey. This will help workers understand the need to upskill and keep up with changes. This way, we can encourage more to embark on the transformation journey with us.”
The awards are open to SMEs with at least 30 per cent local shareholding, group annual sales turnover of less than $100 million or group employment size of not more than 200 employees.
SMEs stand to win prizes such as a three-year subscription to UOB BizSmart and free entry into The FinLab’s digital business transformation programme.
Individuals will receive shopping vouchers and invitations to exclusive knowledge-sharing seminars organised by UOB to continue upgrading their skills.
