ASME, SMU Academy and Straits Interactive collaborate to help SMEs harness their innate knowledge to effectively deploy Generative AI

Singapore, 11 November 2025 (Tuesday) - The Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) Singapore, Straits Interactive, and SMU Academy (SMUA), the professional training arm of Singapore Management University (SMU), today announced their collaboration to accelerate the adoption of Generative AI (Gen AI) among Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This tripartite alliance unites three essential pillars of AI capability - training, technology, and community scale. ASME drives nationwide SME adoption, SMUA provides the learning and certification pathways, and Straits Interactive powers the initiative with its award-winning Capabara Gen AI and governance platform. Together, they form an integrated ecosystem that takes SMEs beyond AI literacy to hands-on, operational capability - combining education, technology, and responsible adoption in one roadmap.

At the heart of this initiative is a new publication, The AI Factory - AI Capability Guide for SMEs. The guide serves as a practical playbook to help SMEs build and scale their AI capabilities responsibly and sustainably. Officially unveiled at the event graced by Mr Patrick Tay, Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC and Member of Parliament for Pioneer SMC, the manual directly supports Singapore's national vision of developing "AI Bilingualists" - professionals fluent in both domain expertise and the language of AI, a concept championed by Minister for Digital Development and Information, Mrs Josephine Teo.

The book has been developed with SMEs in mind, drawing on insights from industry practitioners and educators to help businesses understand, design and implement Gen AI solutions effectively and responsibly.

The manual will be used as a practical reference for SMEs participating in ASME's AI capability-building programmes. Going forward, it will also be a key teaching resource for new Industry Graduate Diploma (IGD) programmes on AI that SMUA plans to offer, to guide learners in applying Gen AI in real-world contexts.

Structured Roadmap Empowering 'AI Bilingualists' for Singapore's Digital Future

Over the past year, ASME's SME@AITE has conducted seven adoption sessions and deployed interns from ITE to assist SMEs in their AI transformation journeys. These efforts have surfaced a key insight. For SMEs adopting AI has become essential to staying competitive.

While Singapore's National AI Strategy has rightly focused on cultivating "AI bilinguals," ASME has observed that many SMEs face friction in implementing AI due to cost and complexity barriers. Without stronger structural support for adoption, Singapore risks producing more AI-trained individuals than there are AI-enabled workplaces to absorb them.

To address this, ASME is advocating for the establishment of quasi-structures between government and trade associations like ASME to enhance collaboration on SME digital transformation. These structures could enable associations to co-develop and jointly administer key aspects of AI-related support such as grant qualification, approval, and audit. Thus, ensuring that national initiatives are both practical and grounded in the realities faced by small businesses.

Said Ang Yuit, President, ASME Singapore, "Singapore's SMEs form the backbone of our economy, and their ability to move from passive users to active creators of Gen AI will determine our nation's competitiveness in the digital age. According to Singapore's Digital Economy Report 2025, AI adoption among SMEs has already risen to 14.5 per cent - up from 4.2 per cent the year before - but we need to deepen that capability. This initiative equips SMEs with the skills and structured support to move beyond AI literacy and build real AI capability as a competitive edge. By partnering with Straits Interactive and SMUA, ASME is helping SMEs transform their domain expertise into AI-powered solutions and take a leading role in Singapore's AI-driven economy."

"AI has flattened the regional skill curve. Our SMEs can no longer compete only on labour quality or education. Competitiveness now depends on how intelligently and quickly we integrate AI into our business systems. The next phase of Singapore's AI journey must involve closer public-private collaboration, where trade associations co-create solutions, co-administer grants, and measure real-world impact. Only then can SMEs truly harness AI to grow and compete," Ang Yuit added.

To complete the roadmap, SMUA is exploring the possibility of a new IGD in this area, building on its two Advanced Certificates, as part of its strong support for responsible Gen AI talent development. The programme is currently under development and is slated for launch in 2026.

When launched, the IGD will add to SMUA's current offering of 14 IGDs, which provide progression pathways to SMU's Industry Practice Masters (IPM) in Digital Economy. These stackable qualifications ensure learners can build AI fluency in a structured and sustainable manner, from practical skills to postgraduate mastery. SMUA's recent expansion of credit exemptions for polytechnic post-diploma graduates, has also made it easier for individuals with non-degree qualifications to access higher-level education and advance their careers.

Jack Lim, Executive Director, SMUA, said, "SMUA is committed to empowering professionals and businesses to stay ahead in a fast-changing digital world. This collaboration translates Gen AI from theory into practical real-world solutions, equipping participants to enhance productivity, spark creativity, and improve decision-making, while staying grounded in ethical and responsible use. Our goal is to help learners gain the confidence in using Gen AI to innovate, and grow responsibly."

Strategic Industry Collaboration

This initiative reflects ASME's long-term commitment to helping SMEs adopt AI responsibly and effectively. As part of its recently released AI Adoption Policy Paper 2025, ASME has outlined a national roadmap to raise SME AI adoption through capability development, governance frameworks, and cross-sector collaboration.

Complementing this, ASME's newly launched AI Centre of Excellence (SME@AITE) - developed in partnership with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) - provides free community AI resources, hands-on workshops, and an experimentation space for SMEs to explore AI solutions before scaling them.

Through this and other partnerships, ASME continues to strengthen its role as a trusted intermediary between policymakers and enterprises. By working more closely with government agencies to co-design adoption frameworks and streamline grant processes, ASME aims to accelerate SME participation in the digital economy while ensuring accountability and inclusive growth. ASME helps to build a supportive ecosystem for SMEs to continue their AI journey, from experimentation to real-world deployment.

Applied Learning for Real-World SME Impact

The recent first National AI Prompt Design Challenge in Singapore co-organised by Straits Interactive and ASME, with awards presented at the AI Festival Asia 2025, revealed that many individuals could create functional Gen AI apps after a short boot camp - but also highlighted a growing skills gap in prompt engineering and applied AI development.

Designed for non-technical business professionals, SMUA's current Advanced Gen AI Certifications with Straits Interactive offers hands-on, practice-oriented learning that enables SMEs to translate Gen AI concepts into everyday business improvements.

Participants will learn to design, brand, and deploy AI-powered tools across areas such as customer service, compliance, HR, learning and development, and marketing, while maintaining responsible AI standards.

Blueprint for SMEs to Adopt Gen AI Safely, Securely and Sustainably

Kevin Shepherdson, CEO, Straits Interactive, further added, "AI adoption is not just about having access to powerful tools - it's about having the right skills and applying AI in relevant business contexts. Our goal is to help SMEs design Gen AI applications that integrate seamlessly into their operations, creating real business value while addressing AI risks and constraints."

With this in mind, Straits Interactive and the co-authors unpacked the concept of an AI Factory in a book, aimed to demystify Gen AI adoption by SMEs for a new tech landscape. Web links within the book offer hands-on exercises and practical Gen AI concepts that SMEs can follow, to build competence and confidence even among the non-tech savvy.

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