The COVID-19 pandemic wave has hit several industries and over the past few months, companies are faced with challenges as they adapt to new norms and figure out their next course of action. While some may have fallen through the cracks and ceased operations, others have reacted swiftly and leveraged on available opportunities.
When the country went on a Circuit Breaker earlier this year, Mr Azhar Othman, Managing Director of Enercon Asia Pte Ltd, knew that early intervention had to be made within the company. He also knew that the government had rolled out several assistance schemes to help businesses overcome their challenges amidst the pandemic.
Tapping onto productivity solutions
Mr Azhar decided to contact his Business Advisor, Beny to understand the different support grants available. During consultation, Beny shared with Mr Azhar on the various grants that were made available to support SMEs during this difficult time.
“Mr Azhar was particularly interested in the Singtel’s Laptop Business Bundle as he shared with me his plans on staggering his staff’s working hours. Furthermore, the bundle was claimable under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)” explained Beny.
The bundle had piqued Mr Azhar’s interest, prompting him to apply for the programme. Beny recommend Mr Azhar a list of IT vendors who were offering the laptop bundle programme and assisted him in getting quotations from the preferred vendors. This proved to be timesaving for Mr Azhar and his team.
Embracing change from within
Within a week of application, Enercon Asia successfully received the grant for the Laptop Bundle programme and Mr Azhar was able to purchase laptops for his staff.
“The initiative came at the right time as the government had announced for employers to allow staff to work from home. Purchasing these new laptops allowed our staff to work from home with vigour and at the same time, increases their productivity,” shared Mr Azhar.