Start Digital is a Singaporean initiative under the government’s SMEs Go Digital programme which was launched in January 2019 by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore. It was set up to provide newly incorporated SMEs or those that have yet to digitalise with foundational and easy-to-deploy digital solutions, to help them start their digitalisation journeys.
These solutions, or Start Digital Packs, are offered by six partners in SIngapore – DBS, M1, Maybank, OCBC, Singtel and UOB. From 2019 to 2020, more than 30,000 SMEs have adopted these Start Digital Packs.
New Start Digital Solutions
COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of enterprises. At present, Start Digital includes Accounting, Human Resource Management System & Payroll, Digital Marketing, Digital Transactions and Cybersecurity solutions.
Based on feedback from SMEs and Start Digital partners, IMDA and ESG are enhancing Start Digital to include new solutions that will enable SMEs to collaborate seamlessly with internal and external parties, and gain new customers.
The new and enhanced categories are:
Digital Collaboration – These enable employees to work from home or any other convenient locations. Examples include Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Digital Marketing – Tools that provide SMEs with templates to create social media ads and manage their digital ad buys and placements on a single platform. This allows SMEs to easily manage targeted digital marketing campaigns and reach out to consumers on social media1
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Digital Transactions – InvoiceNow-linked solutions offered by bank partners are integrated with e-payment including PayNow Corporate to enable SMEs to generate/receive e-invoices through InvoiceNow and make e payments seamlessly.
These solutions help SMEs improve transaction accuracy and administrative productivity. Both e-invoicing and e-payments are part of digital utilities which IMDA is putting in place as baseline infrastructure for the digital economy. Similar to their physical counterparts, digital utilities provide common standards and ease of transactions for businesses.
