Renewing strategic vows: Australia and Singapore eye AI and digital transformation in 2025
Renewing of vows
March 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Australia and Singapore’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
As the date draws closer, both nations are setting their sights on closer collaboration across several sectors including AI and digital transformation. This next chapter promises to bring opportunities for both Singaporean and Australian businesses.
The Australian and Singapore digital advantage: Why Now?
Australia and Singapore are not just geographically aligned; they are rapidly emerging as digital innovation hubs in the Asia-Pacific region:
- Australia's AI Action Plan is paving the way for cutting-edge research and developing ethical AI frameworks
- Singapore's National AI Strategy 2.0 is fuelling sectors like smart cities and logistics, businesses operating between these two markets are perfectly positioned to capitalise on the surge in AI and tech collaborations.
Ways for Australian tech SMEs to get a leg up in their entry into Singapore
For Australian tech businesses seeking entry into Singapore, joint ventures and licensing agreements remain powerful strategies.
- Joint Ventures: Partnering with local Singaporean firms allows Australian businesses to leverage Singapore's deep government support and attractive incentives for AI and digital transformation, particularly in transportation and smart cities.
- Licensing: For companies with proprietary software or AI-driven platforms, licensing is an effective way to scale without heavy infrastructure investments. Singapore's commitment to smart nation initiatives, particularly in urban mobility and logistics, opens numerous doors for specialised tech solutions.
Unlocking the opportunities
Several key initiatives have been refreshed to encourage Australia-Singapore business tech collaborations including:
- Export Market Development Grant which allows Australian businesses to access can now access expanded financial support for market entry strategies will open its fourth round in November 2024
- Singapore launched its GenAI x Digital Leaders initiative in 2024 to accelerate AI adoption among SMEs and seeks to partner firms with tech vendors to develop and deploy AI solutions
The upshot for tech start-ups
There is a lot of groundswells to drive tech collaboration between Australia and Singapore, and the upcoming renewal of the Australia and Singapore strategic partnership in March 2025, is likely to see this grow further. Firms who are in the tech space should stay close to these developments to further ride the wave.
This is a five-part series looking at the opportunities for businesses across the Australia – Southeast Asia corridor. The insights are powered by Via Group: a communications agency focused on supporting international businesses with their cross-border communications needs across Asia. You can check them out at wearevia.com
See other stories in this series
• How Singapore based SMEs can future proof against supply chain shakeups
• Australia and Singapore to help bolster SMEs ESG credentials
• Moves afoot to give Singapore based fintechs a safe landing in Australia
• Unlocking talent amongst Singapore start-ups