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Speech at launch of SAPPHIRE

Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, Marina Bay Sands Peony Ballroom

Skills, training and development

Dr Robert Yap, President, SNEF
Ms Mary Liew, President, NTUC
SNEF Council Members
Ladies and Gentlemen

  1. Good afternoon. I congratulate SNEF on the launching of SAPPHIRE today.
  2. Last week, the Committee on the Future Economy (or CFE) released its report. It outlined the strategies for Singapore to stay ahead in a fast changing and challenging global climate. In particular, it called on businesses to scale up, innovate and transform.
  3. Just now, SNEF President Dr Robert Yap explained the why and what of SAPPHIRE, and how it will help companies, especially our SMEs, to gear up for the future.
  4. SAPPHIRE is an important initiative and a timely response from SNEF. We have recognised the need to transform and innovate for some time now. So some may wonder, what’s new? Why should I act differently this time round?
  5. In Silicon Valley, it is widely accepted that companies can only survive and grow if they can cross two gates successfully.
  6. The first is the “technology” gate.
  7. Technology is neutral. It can create and grow businesses. It can also destroy and kill businesses. So the challenge is to turn technology into our advantage, instead of allowing our competitors to turn technology into our disadvantage.
  8. The second gate is the “market” gate.
  9. The globalisation of markets is also neutral. It can create new growth for those who are able to compete for new markets with new products and services.
  10. But it can also result in stronger competition, especially to those who are slow to respond.
  11. This is why companies in Silicon Valley, big or small, mature or new start up, are running fast all the time to try to cross the two gates – technology and market – ahead of the competition.
  12. In doing so, they recognise that customers do not buy technology. What they want are solutions: products and services that can meet their needs.
  13. Hence, the most effective way of crossing the two gates is through innovation – using technology to come up with useful products and services and deliver them to the customers in the borderless markets.
  14. Those who are able to innovate once, become the winners of today, but failures of tomorrow. Only those who are able to keep innovating, repeatedly, time and time again, are able to do well, now and into the future.
  15. This is the mindset of “pervasive” innovation in Silicon Valley – innovate everywhere, innovate all the time. The co-evolution of rapid advances in technology and globalisation of markets has made this challenge of crossing the two gates through “pervasive innovation” relevant to not just hi-tech companies in Silicon Valley, but to many more companies and industries across the globe.
  16. It is all the more so for Singapore.
  17. Externally, as an export oriented economy, we face a greater risk of losing our competitive advantage, if we allow our competition to cross the two gates ahead of us.
  18. Internally, with a workforce that is growing slower, we face a greater risk of running out of growth capacity, if we are not able to break our manpower bottleneck with pervasive innovation.
  19. Hence, even though innovation and transformation may not be an entirely new concept for us, what is new is that this time round, we need to strive for not just innovation among the pioneers and early adopters, but also “Pervasive” innovation across all sectors (from hi-tech to hi-touch), and across all enterprises (large, medium and small).
  20. To succeed, we need to find ways to help many more businesses to cross the two gates faster – both individually as companies, and collectively as industry clusters.
  21. SAPPHIRE’s focus on lean operations and innovation is completely aligned with the strategies of CFE. Our government agencies will give full support to SAPPHIRE.
  22. Since October 2015, the tripartite partners have worked together under the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (or LEDS). We have supported more than 2000 companies to become more manpower-lean, competitive and sustainable. We look forward to reach out to many more SMEs through SAPPHIRE.
  23. Together, we can broaden and deepen our outreach, from pioneers and early adopters, to the early majority, and make “pervasive” innovation a reality in our future economy.
  24. In closing, let me share with you what I have learnt from Robert on the meaning behind the choice of the name “SAPPHIRE”.
  25. SNEF was inspired by how blue sapphires are formed. Deep within the earth, under intense pressure and heat, ordinary rocks are transformed into precious stones.
  26. As we gear up for the future, many of our SMEs are feeling the heat and pressure too. I encourage them to join SAPPHIRE, transform today, to become lean and growing enterprises in our innovation-driven economy of tomorrow.
  27. I wish you all the very best. Thank you.