A MAJOR $12 million initiative was rolled out by the government on Wednesday to boost design in business and help local enterprises to be more competitive.

Termed 'Design for Enterprises', it was set up by three agencies: International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Spring Singapore and DesignSingapore Council, an arm of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).

Guest of honour Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, speaking at the launch of the initiative, said: 'Businesses and competition have, in fact, become borderless. To succeed, enterprises are increasingly forced to leverage on strategic differentiators such as branding, service quality, intellectual property and technology.

'This is where design can play a major role. Design is an important tool for enterprises to create unique value and to sharpen their competitiveness.'

The initiative, which aims to reach out to 200 Singapore-based enterprises over the next three years, consists of three key thrusts; namely Design Touch, Design Engage and Design Excel.

Dr Lee is upbeat about the initiative.

'While the current downturn has cast a shadow over the global market, it will not change the fundamental drivers of the economy and businesses. Enterprises must continue to create sustainable long-term value in order to survive, to remain viable and to prosper," he said.

'We must learn to exploit the power of design so as to survive this downturn and to be better positioned to take advantage of the many new opportunities which will come with the recovery,' he said.