S1E30: Budget 2024: Mid-year check for SMEs in Singapore

The Straits Times Podcasts

How is the government's $1.3 billion budget working for SMEs so far? We invite them on the show.

Synopsis: Every first Monday of the month, listen to the Work Talk podcast to help you work smarter, think deeper and get ahead in your work life.

It is June, the mid-point of 2024. Join Krist Boo and her co-host Timothy Goh on Work Talk to hear how Singapore's Budget 2024 measures are affecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Joining them are Mr Ang Yuit, president of the Association of SMEs, and Dr Ramesh Rajentheran of AI healthcare start-up MiyaHealth.

SMEs are broadly struggling this year due to trade tensions, disruption from artificial intelligence, and manpower challenges. Start-ups face a chilly 'funding winter'.

Which part of the 2024 Budget package of support measures are useful to businesses in meeting the challenges? What more do our entrepreneurs wish for? And if the government has started thinking of Budget 2025, what do our SME guests hope to see included?

In a year marked by various disruptions, what is the hard question for businesses?

This episode of WorkTalk is brought to you by the Ministry of Finance: https://www.mof.gov.sg/singaporebudget

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:40 Why it's a challenging 2024 for SMEs so far

3:39 "Funding nuclear winter" for start-ups; coming at a bad time in region

6:28 On the idea of the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme

7:15 SkillsFuture could align workforce training with industry needs

13:32 Why corporate venture capital incentivised by the government could help support start-ups

19:50 Change is certain, firms with no long-term viability should face reality
More on Budget 2024: http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/

Produced by: Krist Boo ([e-mail]), Ernest Luis and Amirul Karim

Edited by: Amirul Karim

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Chapter

1. Budget 2024: Mid-year check for SMEs in Singapore (00:00:00)

2. A challenging 2024 for SMEs (00:01:40)

3. "Funding nuclear winter" for start-ups (00:03:39)

4. Overseas Markets Immersion Programme idea (00:06:28)

5. Aligning SkillsFuture for industry needs too (00:07:15)

6. Corporate venture capital supporting start-ups (00:13:32)

7. Long-term viability: Firms need reality check (00:19:50)