Grab and IMDA join forces to scale AI adoption among Singapore SMEs

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has partnered with Grab to help 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Singapore’s food and beverage, retail and eCommerce sectors adopt artificial intelligence.

The initiative, dubbed the "Grab AI Programme for SMEs", will provide businesses with complimentary online training, masterclasses and webinars aimed at raising AI awareness, improving AI literacy and accelerating adoption.

Delivered through GrabAcademy, the programme is designed to address common barriers to adoption, including limited understanding of AI, uncertainty over practical use cases and a lack of implementation support.

Don't miss: OpenAI deepens Singapore bet with SG$300m investment

Participating businesses will gain exposure to IMDA pre-approved AI solutions tailored to their sectors, while those ready to move beyond the basics can enrol in a two-day course, co-developed with the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

The course will guide SMEs through identifying relevant use cases, understanding AI’s business value and developing a practical roadmap for implementation. After completing the programme, businesses will receive support from Grab and IMDA-approved vendors to identify suitable AI solutions.

The Grab partnership forms part of IMDA’s Digital Enterprise Blueprint, a national initiative launched in 2024 to help local businesses strengthen their digital capabilities. To date, the blueprint has supported more than 26,000 enterprises.

Alongside the Grab initiative, IMDA has also partnered with RSM Stone Forest IT to launch the RSM Cyber2SME Programme, which will offer complimentary phishing simulation exercises and cybersecurity workshops to 2,000 SMEs.

Together, the two programmes aim to uplift 12,000 SMEs and keep IMDA on track to reach its goal of supporting 50,000 enterprises by 2029.

According to Alejandro Osorio, managing director of Grab Singapore, the programme aims to close the gap between larger companies with dedicated innovation teams and smaller businesses that often lack the time and resources to explore emerging technologies.

“Our ongoing work with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) highlights a growing divide - not between humans and machines, but between larger firms with dedicated resources and smaller businesses operating with limited bandwidth. Many SMEs are simply too busy to explore new technologies. That is why practical AI matters most," said Osorio.

"Through GrabAcademy, we have long supported our partners with accessible, applied learning, and this collaboration with IMDA allows us to deepen that support. We are helping SMEs adopt AI in tangible ways that translate into real productivity gains and business growth," he added. 

Grab joins a growing roster of Digital Enterprise Blueprint partners including Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services and DBS Bank, all of which are working with IMDA to accelerate AI adoption and digital transformation among Singapore businesses.

Last year, it announced partnerships with Alibaba Cloud, Prudential Singapore, and ST Engineering. Under the partnership, Alibaba Cloud will support up to 3,000 SMEs and digital solution providers through its 'Digital accelerator programme' while Prudential Singapore, working with Republic Polytechnic, will roll out the 'GenAI Xponential programme', offering a series of explainer videos and workshops to help SMEs better understand and adopt pre-approved GenAI solutions under IMDA’s scheme. 

Meanwhile, ST Engineering will provide up to 2,000 SMEs with a one-time cyber threat scan via IMDA’s CTO-as-a-Service platform, along with events designed to help businesses recognise and defend against emerging cyber threats.

Related articles:  
IMDA partners SBS on global content co-productions and AI solutions  
IMDA sets guardrails for agentic AI with new framework  
IMDA in talks with X as Grok misuse sparks safety concerns