First batch of 15 heartland businesses from EnterpriseSG programme opens in Ang Mo Kio
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Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong with En.Souffle owner Spencer Chan, 55, during a tour of Sprouts@AMK on Sept 21.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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- Sprout@AMK, with 15 businesses, was launched by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sept 21 to showcases a heartland innovation programme by EnterpriseSG.
- Owners of shops like The Memory Frame.sg and PitStop can try out new business models and skills before moving to permanent spaces elsewhere.
- They get support and mentorship for 12 months, after which they can apply for shop spaces with discounted rent for three years under a HDB scheme.
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SINGAPORE – Mr Louis Lim wants people to print their photographs and present them as a series of memories set in picture frames.
The 35-year-old has been working in his family’s traditional picture frame business in Clementi for 15 years. Each frame takes days to make from scratch.
To reduce waiting time and costs while preserving the craft, he founded The Memory Frame.sg, which stocks a variety of partially completed frames that Mr Lim prepares in advance.
This enables waiting time to be cut to between 30 and 45 minutes. Depending on the number of images in a frame, cost savings to customers can be up to $60 or so.
The Memory Frame.sg is a spin-off from Parklane Art Framer, which is Mr Lim’s family business. It is one of 15 businesses at Sprout@AMK, which was officially opened by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sept 21.
Sprout@AMK houses the first cohort of businesses to undergo the 12-month Heartland Innovation and Transformation Programme by trade agency Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
Mr Louis Lim, who owns The Memory Frame.sg, a photo frame business, was able to innovate to cut down on waiting time and costs.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The businesses run the gamut from shops selling interesting food items to a hardware shop that is also a workspace for customers’ do-it-yourself projects.
The space at Block 713A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 is intended to be a launch pad for business owners to try out and develop their ideas before they move to permanent retail spaces in housing estates.
The programme helps participants to refine their business models and learn skills such as social media marketing from Nanyang Polytechnic lecturers. They are also paired with industry mentors for guidance.
The lease at Ang Mo Kio is for 12 months from July 2025 or so, and EnterpriseSG plans to recruit the next wave of participants for the programme by the end of 2025. The next cohort of businesses will likely take over the space in the second half of 2026. Neither EnterpriseSG nor the business owners would say how much it costs to rent the 10 sq m shop space, but a tenant said it is lower than what shops in neighbouring blocks are paying.
After the lease ends, these businesses can apply for shop spaces under the HDB Enhanced Entrepreneur Scheme. Eligible start-ups will receive a 10 per cent rental discount for their first three-year tenancy.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong visiting the shops at Sprout@AMK in Ang Mo Kio, meant for heartland businesses to try out their ideas before setting up ventures in housing estates.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The mix of shops at the location includes Pitstop by Intertech Hardware.
Besides selling home improvement hardware, Pitstop offers a workbench and tools for its customers to work on anything from electrical appliance fitting to bicycle fixing and other do-it-yourself projects, with help from the owner, Ms Jasmine Goh.
The 50-year-old former teacher took over a hardware shop in Pasir Ris in 2013 from her father-in-law. She wants to preserve the trade, recognising the role of serving residents living in the neighbourhood.
Pitstop offers a workbench and tools for its customers to work on anything from electrical appliance fitting to bicycle fixing and other do-it-yourself projects.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
There is also One Kueh at a Time, which sells soon kueh made on site.
Ms Karen Kuah, 49, was a social worker until a few years ago, when she started selling the Teochew steamed dumpling made with her business partner’s family recipe.
The pair previously operated at Berseh Food Centre in Jalan Besar, then from an industrial building in Pandan Loop, before moving to Sprout@AMK.
One Kueh at a Time sells soon kueh made on site.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
While the dumplings are still made by hand, the shop uses a machine to roll the dumpling skin to increase productivity. Other than innovating the menu to include unconventional fillings like beetroot and bak kwa, or barbecued pork slices, Ms Kuah is looking at how they can possibly expand the business.
On Sept 21, SM Lee, who is an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, visited the shops at Sprout@AMK and spoke to the tenants after the official opening ceremony.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong visiting the shops at Sprout@AMK, where heartland businesses get to try out their ideas before setting up ventures in housing estates.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Mr Jason Lim, EnterpriseSG’s director of food services and heartland enterprises, said the programme’s cohort approach provides participating businesses with peer support to develop and test new concepts in a space with like-minded entrepreneurs.
Other EnterpriseSG initiatives to bring more innovation and vibrancy to neighbourhoods include funding for non-profit organisations to hold activities in HDB estates, and help for heartland businesses to spruce up their store layouts and develop marketing materials.
