Government agencies jointly launch digital office, plan for 10,000 new jobs

In a collaborative effort, the Economic Development Board (EDB), Enterprise Singapore and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have joined forces to establish a digital office called Digital Industry Singapore (DISG). The DISG office was revealed during a Smart Nation Summit yesterday.Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said new modalities of engagement are needed in this digital age. “Given the dynamic nature of tech trends, it is essential that governments and the private sector work together as trusted partners and as co-creators of solutions rather than just adhere to  the traditional roles of regulator and regulated entity,” he added.The new joint office will bring together 45 existing officers from EDB, Enterprise Singapore and IMDA, combining the unique strengths in industry development, market access, capability development and policy formulation from the three agencies. DISG looks to transform the way the Singapore government engages with the technology sector, as it serves as a single interface for the industry. The streamlined approach looks to enable DISG to better understand companies’ needs.As such, on a consumer technology front, DISG will assist companies to tap into the Asian market to capture opportunities in areas such as ride-hailing, eCommerce, fintech and new media. Meanwhile, in the enterprise technology segment, DISG will leverage Singapore’s base of diverse industry sectors and ongoing investments to digitalise the economy to help companies build new solutions in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, payments and cloud, that can scale globally from Singapore.In collaboration with industry and relevant government agencies, DISG will also be co-creating future-ready policies and guide investments in areas such as data, talent, trade and digital infrastructure. Ultimately, the new joint office looks to strengthen Singapore’s capabilities and enhance the nation’s competitiveness as a business location for companies in the technology sector.These efforts taken together is expected to create up to 10,000 new jobs within the technology sector over the next three years. Beyond technology roles in engineering, software and product development, jobs in other functions such as finance, human resources, innovation and business development will possibly be created, according to a press statement. In addition, DISG has supported the establishment Grab’s headquarters in Singapore that will house up to 3,000 employees and its R&D centre. The digital office has also facilitated a collaboration between Grab, media company VICE and IMDA to nurture local digital content creators, to provide new avenues to reach a regional audience via Grab and VICE’s platforms.Kiren Kumar, chief digital industry officer, DISG said with EDB, Enterprise Singapore and IMDA coming together, DISG aims to establish Singapore as a global-Asia technology hub with deep capabilities, strong infrastructure and a vibrant ecosystem of local and global enterprises, from which new products, services, business models and partnerships are created for Asia and beyond.”