By Rick Jones*
In May last year, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, Tan Kiat How, struck a confident note on his country’s business outlook.
“The digital landscape is evolving at an unprecedented rate and this rapid transformation provides limitless opportunities for all,” he said, announcing Singapore’s SME-focused Digital Enterprise Blueprint.
“Our enterprises have made good progress on digitalisation, but we need to stay ahead of the curve in ensuring that our enterprises remain competitive and our workers continue to enjoy good jobs.”
Could we say the same?
In September, Ross van der Schyff, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) General Manager of Business & Consumer, announced funding for the Digital Boost program, which, at its peak in June 2023 boasted 60,000 registered users, would end in December.
The contrast could hardly be more striking.
Singapore’s small businesses continue to outperform New Zealand’s, according to CPA Australia’s Asia Pacific Small Business Survey 2024-25.
New Zealand’s small business sector this year reached the bottom across almost the whole range of rankings among the 11 economies surveyed.
We had the lowest percentage of businesses reporting growth in 2024, a trend expected to persist in 2025.
Some 64 per cent of New Zealand small business stagnated or declined in 2024.
New Zealand small businesses rank among the lowest in just about every indicator of technology uptake.
A risk-averse mindset prevails among New Zealand small business owners, and most are unlikely to pursue high-growth strategies.
And the really bad news is … the news is not going to get any better.
New Zealand has the oldest business owner demographic among all the markets surveyed, with 64 per cent aged 50 or over – significantly above the survey average of 24 per cent.
CPA Australia’s research consistently finds that one of the key drivers of business growth is younger business owners.
The linkage is borne out by the survey’s detailed results. For example, for owners under 40, 54 per cent reported their business grew in 2024, and 60 per cent expect their business to grow in 2025.
For owners 50 to 59, the growth rate dropped to 24 per cent in 2024, with 50 per cent expecting growth in 2025.
And for owners aged 60 and over, just 20 per cent experienced growth in 2024 and 30 per cent expect it in 2025.
What Singapore understands – and, going by Digital Boost’s demise, we do not – is that continuing to lag on digital uptake is a sure path to a moribund economy.
Just look at our rankings.
More than 10 per cent of revenue received from online sales – 11th out of 11.
More than 10 per cent of sales received through digital payment options such as PayPal or Google Pay – 11th out of 11.
Used social media for business purposes – 11th out of 11.
Investment in technology over the last 12 months improved profitability – 11th out of 11.
The data shows business owners under 40 - regardless of how long the business has been operating - are more likely to run growing and innovative small businesses.
They are also more likely to embrace technology, explore export opportunities, and take calculated risks, making them key contributors to economic success and improved productivity.
CPA Australia’s submission to Budget 2025 recommended the government launch a campaign to increase the proportion of small business owners under 40 by promoting the benefits of small business ownership to our young people.
A campaign which would start to move the dial would showcase the key motivators for starting a business - independence, work-life balance, and pursuing passions.
It would highlight the characteristics of high-growth small businesses, including customer satisfaction, clear business strategy, online sales, social media engagement, technology adoption, innovation, and seeking professional advice.
And it would address common business challenges by providing the guidance young risk-takers need on managing irregular income, cash flow, business uncertainty, and customer acquisition and retention.
Our survey found that in 2024, 49 per cent of New Zealand small businesses sought advice from their accountant or business consultant, while only five per cent turned to government for advice.
MBIE’s tools such as GoBusiness and GoManufacturing, admirable though they are, don’t appear to be go-to places for accessing advice, and they don’t seem to be moving the dial.
Amid the gloomy talk of an Austerity Budget 2025, one glimmer of hope is the announcement a Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council is being established.
One of its first jobs must be to tackle low digital technology adoption by small businesses.
And that means getting our young people interested in taking the baton – with solid business advice behind them.
*Rick Jones is Regional Head of accounting body CPA Australia.
10 Comments
A campaign which would start to move the dial would showcase the key motivators for starting a business - independence, work-life balance, and pursuing passions.
None of those are necessarily true. You eschew all the safety nets of being an employee, with all the ride or die aspects of commerce, all the while beholden to an increasing range of costly and time consuming regulations, suppliers demands on one end, and employee responsibilities on the other.
As for lack of implementation social media, in the past when I have attempted this, it produced the lowest value, highest communication requirements of any leads. Adwords beats it hands down.
Looks like you might need to be a clean-cut, young and fit, European male, to get a job in that office above.
To small to have a DEI policy
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My friend got me to join in early 2005.
So I have a firstname.lastname Gmail address. Apparently these are fairly rare nowadays (even for the less common names).
As an anecdote, It's incredible how little things have changed in the 20 or 30 years. Many customers still use the phone to call up for enquiries and orders, particularly in the trades/automotive etc.
Yes, businesses need to embrace new ways of doing things but they have also need a customer that's willing to go with it. Many NZ industries are inherently conservative.
I wanted to do a live chat the other day with a utility but I had to fill in a form that included my mobile #, email address and date of birth. I chose to get on the blower.
My experience within that industry is the phone is preferred for many orders (an attempt) to ensure the correct part/good is dispatched....so a productivity enhancing measure.
Amid the gloomy talk of an Austerity Budget 2025, one glimmer of hope is the announcement a Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council is being established
Oh for goodness sake. Just what we need, what an innovative idea!!!!! Another advisory quango!
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