Our CEO, Wan Wei Han, breaks down his key takeaways from Budget 2025 highlights for SMEs and entrepreneurs, focusing on AI adoption, sustainability incentives, and workforce upskilling. By leveraging government grants and digital tools, businesses can automate routine tasks, track carbon footprints, and empower teams with new skills for greater efficiency, competitiveness, and resilience amid an ever-evolving landscape.
Over the past few years things have gotten very busy at ATHR that I've not had time to pen my thoughts as much anymore. Still, after reading through Singapore’s Budget 2025 highlights I can't help but feel proud of what we've accomplished so far. As someone who’s spent years helping SMEs navigate compliance and growth— while trying to leverage digital innovations to improve that process— here’s what stood out to me and what businesses should know:
I've already said it in a few of my earlier posts, there's no use fighting against this wave and refusing to adapt means getting left behind. That SGD 150M Enterprise Compute Initiative is definitely going to be a gamechanger. This is your chance to automate the soul-crushing tasks. Those, it's-robotic-but-someone's-gotta-do-it things. Think: tax filings that make your team work weekends, or compliance checks that eat into client time. It can be equal parts alarming and impressive to see what automations are possible now .Will it completely replace humans? Probably not, but freeing your people to focus on why they joined your company in the first place— building relationships, not chasing spreadsheets— counts as a win in my book.
The “green” movement doesn't just mean tree-hugging—it’s your new P&L lever. Imagine tracking carbon footprints in real-time and spotting where you’re literally burning cash. Or leveraging green tax breaks to offset that new warehouse lease. You should check, are your accounting systems nimble enough to pivot when new incentives drop?
Forget whiteboards in Silicon Valley garages, the budget’s innovation grants could mean something as simple as:
SMEs should tap into the extended government grants and partnerships to drive innovation. Whether it’s adopting cloud-based financial tools or integrating AI-driven audit and risk assessment, businesses that upskill their teams will have a clear edge. Of course, these need to be balanced with proper quality and accuracy checking measures.
We’ve all got that one competitor who’s weirdly prepared for every crisis. What do they know? Budgets like this reward the ready. When the next grant drops or ESG rule changes, will you be scrambling—or sprinting ahead? I'm excited to see how others will turn these takeaways into real-world wins. Don't hesitate to drop me a line and let me know!
