Singapore, Friday, 31 July 2009 - The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) today jointly launched the SBF-NUS Business Advisors Program (BAP), following the signing of a SBF-NUS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in February 2009.
The BAP matches and deploys displaced NUS alumni who are Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for short-term consulting assignments ranging from three to 12 months. This programme capitalizes on the expertise, experience and market knowledge of the PMETs to help SMEs in their business strategies and operations.
Supported by SBF and SPRING Singapore, the BAP aims to match 30 PMETs and SMEs in the next 14 months, with each match resulting in a BAP project. The event saw some 130 participants, comprising of NUS alumni, invited guests and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) owners, gathered at Kent Ridge Guild House, NUS, for the BAP launching ceremony.
The SMEs stand to benefit from the BAP as the business advisors will help to assess their business strategies; expansion plans; analyse their branding and marketing development; financial management; infocomm technology utilization and management; human resource management or operations; and manufacturing management.
SPRING Singapore will support the SBF-NUS BAP by funding 70 per cent of the project fees - the monthly consultancy fee that SME uses to engage the PMET as a consultant or business advisor. The total payable fee per month for each project is capped at S$5,000. The remaining fees will be borne by the SME.
Helping to broadcast the programme over 15,000 members, SBF will facilitate the selection and matching of PMETs and SMEs. In addition, SBF is part of the BAP Steering Committee together with NUS that will evaluate the scope of work of the business advisor, the proposed project, and also evaluate and recommend the project matches for the final approval for SPRING Singapore's funding.
SBF CEO Mr. Teng Theng Dar said, "This collaboration between the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the NUS is aimed at facilitating business, manpower and technology capability building by enabling SBF members to tap on the talent pool of students, faculty and alumni from the university. The NUS-SPRING-SBF Business Advisors Program is yet another initiative where companies can access the expertise of the NUS alumni PMETs' for business consultancy and support, while tapping on SPRING Singapore funding. We encourage our member companies to actively take advantage of the BAP program to benefit from the SBF-NUS collaboration platform".
During the launch, one of the speakers, Mr Gideon Lim, Managing Director, Web Synergies (s) Pte. Ltd., offered his insights from an SME perspective and shared how SME owners can gain from such a program which taps on the business advisors' expertise and skills.
The program is suitable for SMEs with the following profile:
Fixed Assets not exceeding S $15 million (group basis)
Employing no more than 200 employees (for companies in service sector)
With at least 30 percent local equity
Committed not to displace existing employees
Committed to follow through the implementation after the engagement is concluded
With the launch of the BAP, SBF will continue to play a pivotal role in helping its member companies to cope with talent management and fulfil their business needs amidst the economic uncertainties.
About SBF-NUS Business Advisors Program (BAP)
If you are an SBF member, we encourage you to take the opportunity to benefit from the program for talent sourcing, while taking advantage of the funding support by SPRING Singapore.
For further enquiries, you can contact SBF at Tel: 6827 6834 or email: bap@sbf.org.sg
About NUS Business School
Established in 1965, NUS Business School is known for its focus in providing management thought leadership from an Asian perspective, enabling our students and corporate partners to leverage on the best global knowledge and deep Asian insights to drive business education and growth in Asia and around the world. This combination of global knowledge and Asian insights is reflected in all aspects of its research, teaching and industry outreach. As Asia's Global Business School, NUS Business School is a leading authority on business in Asia.
The School has consistently received top rankings in the Asia-Pacific region by independent publications and agencies, such as Financial Times, Economist Intelligence Unit, and QS Top MBA, in recognition of the quality of its programmes, faculty's research and graduates. In its 2008 rankings, The Financial Times ranked the NUS Business School's Asia Pacific Executive MBA programme 20th in the world, the highest ranking ever achieved by any business school in Singapore. The Financial Times ranked the NUS MBA 35th in the world. In 2009, QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers' Choice Survey rated NUS Business School graduates third in the Asia Pacific. The School's research is ranked 47th in the world by the University of Texas, Dallas. The School is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), an endorsement that the School has met the highest standards for business education.
The School has more than 110 top research faculty, over 2,500 BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, and PhD students; more than 2,000 annual participants in Executive Education programmes; and over 45,000 alumni in diverse organisations and positions of leadership throughout the world.
For more information, please visit www.bschool.nus.edu.sg
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