Talent, AI and agility are key to helping small and medium-sized businesses compete globally

Roundtable panelists

• Geoffrey Siow, Acting Minister of Transport and Senior Minister of Finance
• Lo Yen Lin, Senior Minister for Trade, Industry, Culture, Communities and Youth
• Koren Wines, Managing Director, Xero Asia
• Alison Nam, Nandina REM Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer
• Moderator: Chen Huifen, Editor; business times

When we talk about elevating SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to compete globally, what is the most important differentiator? Revenue? Is it market access or talent?

low: I’ll go with talent. Talent is the most important differentiator for small businesses, especially now that they can leverage AI to surpass themselves on the world stage.

Shiou: Resilience, being able to cope with a faster changing world.

wine: It’s organizational agility. It’s the ability to listen to the market and pivot accordingly, keeping an eye on what’s happening in both the macro- and micro-economic environment and the broader context.

Nam: When I choose human resources, I take into consideration the changes in things and the speed at which they change. It’s important to have the ability to adapt and think outside the box to create new processes and systems. That’s the key skill set that today’s talent needs to focus on.

The Economic Strategic Review (ESR) mid-term update notes that growth will be harder to achieve in this new phase of the economy. Given that Budget 2026 focuses on AI, transformation, and internationalization, how should small business owners redefine what strategic advantage looks like today compared to, say, five years ago?

Shiou: This budget is a long-term plan focused on ESR planning for the next 5-10 years with a view to rebuilding the economy for the future. The plan includes many opportunities for small businesses.

Firstly, we are doubling down on the growth areas that have been successful in Singapore.

This includes not only the field of advanced manufacturing, but also other fields such as biotechnology and finance. These have traditionally been areas of strength for Singapore, where many SMEs support multinationals (multinationals) from the perspective of being part of an ecosystem and supply chain. Doubling down on these growth areas will create opportunities for small businesses.

Second, we are also entering new areas such as quantum computing, space technology, and sustainable technology. There are fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses that are new to these areas and are doing some really exciting new things, and we want to help them do more.

And finally, there’s AI. We help small and medium-sized businesses build their AI capabilities, benefit from AI, and deploy AI solutions wherever possible. Because we know that AI is coming and will fundamentally change the way the economy and business operate.

low: There are three areas that I can offer: It is the use of technology and data capabilities. innovation; and internationalization.

When it comes to using technology and data capabilities, small businesses have a really great opportunity to really bootstrap these capabilities because they no longer have to spend a lot of money to buy hardware. For example, AI. We can support small and medium-sized businesses in implementing AI, depending on their digital maturity.

If small businesses can take advantage of AI, they can accomplish three things. First, AI can assist employees in their work by supplementing the physical workforce with virtual AI agents. Second, you can automate the process. Third, it helps us enhance our products and services.

When it comes to innovation – in today’s world, you can’t compete on cost alone. It’s about differentiation through innovation, and we will continue to help small businesses invest in product development, branding and design to differentiate themselves.

Koren, if a small business comes to Xero and says they want to go overseas, how can we help them?

wine: International expansion is a goal like any other, and the only way to achieve it is by increasing the visibility of your business. It’s important to utilize tools like Xero to visualize your financial data.

But it’s also important to be agile in your non-core accounting work. Because accounting is where transactional data is generated.

Many people don’t realize that Xero is more than just accounting software. We have an app store with 1,500 apps for jobs outside of core accounting. With goals such as international expansion, launching a new product line, and investing in equipment, the customer knew they needed to outgrow Xero and move to an enterprise resource planning system at significant cost.

However, I discovered an app in the store that allows you to achieve your goals without the big corporate prices.

If a small business owner could walk out of this room and change only one thing about their business tomorrow morning to be globally relevant by 2027, what should that one thing be?

Namu: I mean, talent. Small businesses need to be clear that their people are their most valuable resource, but they also need to be very intentional about how they make their people highly adaptable to evolving conditions.

Give them the opportunity to work in a laboratory environment. Give them the flexibility to try, fail, and iterate. Finally, you can actually hear how you can plan your career together. After all, retaining talent is also a huge challenge we all face.

wine: Every business owner needs to have systems and tools in place to visualize their business to keep up with the environment. No more paper excuses.

As your competitors continue to digitalize and incorporate AI into their businesses, you need to keep up or you won’t be able to compete. Digitization and AI adoption – The longevity of your business depends on AI.

Shiou: Small and medium-sized enterprises should not only aim to survive, but also to grow. We know that many small businesses are focused on staying afloat in the current uncertain global climate. But what really matters is setting the bar high and striving for growth.

It’s that willingness to seek out opportunities that makes the difference. In a world of change, there are many opportunities, and if you are willing to take risks and try new things, the rewards can be great.

low: Find a way to ring-fence perhaps half a day a month for AI sessions with your team. You probably already have weekly or biweekly operations meetings, but you need to set aside time specifically for this.

It’s not enough to tell managers and staff to adopt AI without first finding a path. And it’s not enough to just tell people to use AI without thinking about what to do with their existing operations.

Employing AI can help, automate, and scale your business. And if we can help all SMEs have the ambition and opportunity-seeking attitude to leverage AI, deploy virtual talent, and operate like multinationals, then Singapore will truly be a springboard.