Newsroom

Good afternoon, partners, and fellow business leaders.

This year marks a significant milestone for the ASME as we celebrate our 40th anniversary. For four decades, ASME has stood alongside Singapore’s SMEs through every cycle of growth and transformation. As we look toward the future, we recognise that the landscape of business is changing. It is no longer sufficient to focus solely on the bottom line and instead the next generation of growth is defined by how we integrate impact into our core operations.

This is why we are gathered here for the launch of Impact40.

Impact40 is our flagship initiative designed specifically to bridge the gap between profit and purpose. We understand that SMEs often face resource constraints. You might want to do more for the community or the environment, however the demands of your day-to-day operations often prevent you from doing so. Impact40 is here to help. Through the initiative, we intend to rally Singapore’s SMEs to embrace purpose-driven growth by moving away from ad-hoc contribution towards social responsibility toward a strategic corporate purpose.

By participating in Impact40, your CSR efforts will be structured and intentional. We have strategically mapped this initiative against the five domains of the Company of Good Framework: People, Society, Governance, Environment, and Economic. This alignment ensures that your efforts go beyond “feel-good” projects. That it drives employee retention and brand loyalty.

We are honoured to have with us, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) as our partner in this journey. Through the Company of Good framework, we see clearly that being a “Company of Good” is not just about charity; it yields a real return on investment. It builds a resilient organisational culture and strengthens your reputation in an increasingly conscious market.

Sustainability is also a core pillar of this initiative. We are grateful for the support of City Developments Limited (CDL). Through their queen bee programme and expertise, we want to show SMEs that decarbonisation can help SMEs meet the rising environmental standards of global clients and hence yield tangible results.

The ultimate vision for Impact40 is that by the end of this year, every participating SME will have embedded corporate purpose into their DNA. By doing so, you are making yourselves ready to plug into the global supply chains of the major partners joining us here today.

Thank you for being part of our 40-year legacy and for joining us as we step into this new era of purposeful business. Let’s make an impact together.