Salesforce and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have launched the Slack AI Launchpad Programme, a two-year initiative to help up to 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop and implement AI-enabled workflows. Announced by Minister for Digital Development and Information Mrs Josephine Teo at IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital Day 2026 on 13 October, the initiative supports Singapore’s National AI Impact Programme (NAIIP) and Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB), which seek to strengthen AI adoption and digital capabilities among local businesses.
Participating businesses will receive complimentary 60-day trials of Slack Business+ for up to 10 users per company, alongside two hands-on workshops. The programme aims to help SMEs identify suitable tasks for automation and put agentic AI into practice in their daily operations to improve productivity and support business growth.
Workshops focus on implementing AI
The programme addresses the steps involved in adopting AI, including identifying business processes suitable for automation, preparing workflows and data, and developing AI-enabled processes that employees can use in their daily work. Working alongside partners Bryd, May4S and Valuehub, Salesforce will conduct the workshops, where participants will first learn Slack fundamentals before identifying suitable business use cases and building at least one AI-enabled workflow for their organisation.
Johnson Poh, Assistant Chief Executive, Enterprise Transformation and Innovation Group, IMDA, identified a lack of knowledge about applying AI as a key barrier to adoption among smaller businesses. “The biggest barrier for many SMEs is not access to AI tools, but knowing how to apply them to their day-to-day operations, particularly when lean teams have limited time and resources to explore new ways of working. Through the Slack AI Launchpad Programme, SMEs will receive hands-on guidance to identify relevant use cases and develop AI-enabled workflows that meet their business needs, helping them build the practical know-how and confidence to adopt AI,” said Poh.
To support their work, participants will also receive templates, guides and AI prompt libraries. A dedicated Slack community will allow SMEs to connect with other participants and receive ongoing assistance from Salesforce throughout the complimentary trial period.
Slackbot brings AI assistance into everyday tasks
The programme provides access to Slackbot, an AI assistant built directly into Slack and designed to serve as a personal AI teammate for each employee. According to Salesforce, it draws on conversations, decisions and data within the platform to understand how businesses work and assist employees with routine activities. The assistant can help users find information, organise work, create content, schedule meetings and carry out tasks without leaving Slack, capabilities intended to make AI assistance available within the collaboration environment employees already use.
Participating SMEs can also use Slackbot Skills to create reusable AI capabilities for recurring tasks, allowing employees to set up shortcuts that other team members can run without having to write individual prompts or recreate the same workflows.
Programme supports Singapore’s wider AI adoption plans
The Slack AI Launchpad Programme forms part of Singapore’s efforts to encourage businesses to adopt AI. Announced during the Committee of Supply Debates 2026, the National AI Impact Programme aims to support 10,000 local enterprises over three years in advancing their AI adoption. The initiative also supports the Digital Enterprise Blueprint, introduced in 2024 to strengthen digital capabilities among local businesses. The blueprint focuses on four priorities: helping enterprises become smarter, scale faster, improve security and equip workers with the skills to use digital technologies.
Over the past two years, Salesforce ran the Data + AI Boost SME Programme in collaboration with IMDA, helping more than 6,500 SMEs across different stages of digital maturity use data and AI-enabled solutions. The company’s existing products for smaller businesses include Salesforce Suites, a customer relationship management platform designed for small businesses and startups with built-in AI, and Slack CRM, which allows businesses to manage customer relationships directly within Slack.
Registration opens on 13 October 2026 through IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital platform, where businesses can also obtain further information about the programme.
