Real AI programs for real SME owners across SEA & ANZ
What your country actually offers: training, grants, tax breaks and free expert time, from governments, banks and foundations. With the background, who qualifies, and exactly where to apply. Every page screenshotted and checked.
Click a country on the map, or pick one above
The full walkthrough — every programme in this atlas, how it was researched, and how to find the one that fits you (34:01).youtube.com/watch?v=p1kw84xEUK4
What this programme is, and why it turns up again under Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Each country runs its own free intake.
A two year programme led by the ASEAN Foundation, the official body of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with AVPN (the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network). It is funded by Google.org and the Asian Development Bank, and endorsed by ACCMSME, the ASEAN committee that coordinates small business policy across the region. It trains 100,000 MSMEs across all ten ASEAN member states on practical AI for marketing, online selling, customer replies, admin work and bookkeeping.
MSMEs in any ASEAN member state. MSME means micro, small and medium enterprise, the standard term across this region for any business below the large-company thresholds, from a market stall up to a couple of hundred staff.
Free. No fee, no course cost, and you get a certificate. Your own country's intake is in its section below. Malaysia's is run by Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS and has no public sign-up page yet.
Open aseanfoundation.org → https://aseanfoundation.org/programme/aim-asean/Google.org and the Asian Development Bank are paying to train 100,000 small businesses across Southeast Asia to use AI. In Indonesia there are no eligibility conditions at all. Any small business, at any stage.
The deepest stack in the region: layered grants, a bank-backed advisory track, and a governance framework written specifically for AI agents.
The free, fully sponsored AI training run here by Project Asia Data, aimed at 3,000 Singapore MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). Take it self-paced online through the STARTUPVILLAGE portal, or as a single three hour in-person workshop. New batches open regularly.
Singapore-registered MSMEs up to S$100M revenue or 200 staff. Whoever attends should be an owner or hold a decision-making role.
Pick a learning mode and register. There is no course fee.
Open projectasiadata.com → https://projectasiadata.com/aim-asean/
Singapore's main route to funded AI adoption. Pre-scoped software, equipment and consultancy, including chatbots, document processing and workflow automation, are part-funded when you buy through an approved vendor. PSG sits first on the Business Grants Portal's supported list.
Registered and operating in Singapore, with the solution used in Singapore. Selected solutions also require at least 30% local shareholding, and consultancy solutions require three local employees.
Get a vendor quote first, then apply on the Business Grants Portal using Corppass, the government login for businesses. Do this before you sign anything or pay a deposit.
Open businessgrants.gov.sg → https://www.businessgrants.gov.sg/
A bank-run on-ramp instead of a pure grant. DBS pairs you with one-to-one consultancy and over 16,000 vetted AI suppliers, with free workshops from IMDA (the Infocomm Media Development Authority, Singapore’s digital regulator) along the way. The path can still lead to up to 50% grant funding from Enterprise Singapore.
Singapore-incorporated, at least 30% owned by citizens or permanent residents, and within the SME size band.
Submit the interest form. A one-to-one advisory session follows.
Open dbs.com.sg/sme/spark-genai → https://www.dbs.com.sg/sme/spark-genai
Built specifically for food and beverage businesses. UOB (United Overseas Bank) provides the advisory, and Enterprise Singapore funds up to 50% for SMEs on AI for point of sale, stock, accounts and customer engagement. Two ready-made bundles: customer loyalty and ordering, or operations automation.
Food and beverage activity under SSIC 56, Singapore's industry classification code. Also at least 30% local ownership and a UOB business account. Larger companies are funded at up to 30%.
Book a free consultation with a UOB BizSmart advisor. Your solution provider then files the grant application for you.
Open uob.com.sg → https://www.uob.com.sg/business/sme/digital-ai-grants/food-beverage-enterprisesg.page
Not funding. A free, practical playbook for deploying AI agents without them running wild. It covers what an agent should be allowed to touch, who approves what, and how to roll it out in stages.
Anyone deploying or buying agentic AI, meaning AI that takes actions on your systems instead of only answering questions. No restrictions.
Download it directly. No application, no cost.
Open imda.gov.sg → https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/press-releases-factsheets-and-speeches/press-releases/2026/new-model-ai-governance-framework-for-agentic-ai
A modular bootcamp built to produce one real thing: a working AI confidence project and an implementation roadmap you can actually follow, not a certificate.
Non-ICT enterprises, Singapore-registered, generally at least 30% locally owned.
Express interest. IMDA assesses fit before matching you in.
Open imda.gov.sg → https://www.imda.gov.sg/about-imda/research-and-statistics/support-for-industry-sectors/enterprise-digital-transformation/digital-leaders-programme
A fast, structured AI deployment. Three months, total project cost capped at S$20,000 including cloud and computing power, covering knowledge search, customer engagement, operations automation and call analytics. Some funding from IMDA and UOB is possible.
Digitally mature companies with a genuine, specific use case.
Engage through Microsoft, the UOB FinLab, or an implementation partner.
Open news.microsoft.com → https://news.microsoft.com/source/asia/2026/02/06/microsoft-launches-ai-quickstart-programme-with-support-from-imda-and-uob/
Free training videos, live masterclasses, a two day course at SUTD (Singapore University of Technology and Design), and hands-on help writing your first AI adoption plan. Built for the businesses Grab already works with.
SMEs in Grab's target food and beverage, retail and e-commerce communities.
Check IMDA's factsheet for current session registration links.
Open imda.gov.sg → https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/press-releases-factsheets-and-speeches/factsheets/2026/imda-partners-with-grab-and-rsm-stone-forest-it-to-uplift-12000-smes-in-ai-and-cybersecuritySingapore has already published a framework for deploying AI agents safely: scoped access, human checkpoints, staged rollout. It's free, and worth reading before you deploy anything.
Free AI training open to every Indonesian small business with no conditions attached, plus mentoring that pays out ad credit. That one closes in weeks.
Free AI training run here by KUMPUL Impact, mandated to reach 32,000 Indonesian entrepreneurs. Modules, videos, live sessions and the certificate all cost nothing.
Every MSME in Indonesia, known locally as UMKM. The programme states no special conditions, whether you are just starting or already established.
Register on the site and start the training.
Open aim-asean.kumpul.id → https://aim-asean.kumpul.id/
Meta with the Ministry of Trade and UKMINDONESIA.ID. It covers market research, building a product catalogue for export, and using Meta's Personalized AI to target promotion. Selected participants get expert mentoring, Rp150,000 in Meta advertising credit plus a further Rp500,000 for the top 20 in Jakarta, transport money, meals and a certificate.
Small businesses in Jakarta and the surrounding area with products ready, or nearly ready, for international markets. Limited places, and the organisers choose who gets in.
Register before 2 September 2026, 23:59 Jakarta time. The programme runs 9 to 24 September 2026.
Open s.id/registgapaiglobaljakarta → https://s.id/registgapaiglobaljakartaThe mentoring programme closes to registration on 2 September 2026. It's free, and it pays out Meta advertising credit on top.
A national learning platform that opens free AI access at the end of the month, and hands-on training at the community internet centres. No single big fund behind either.
The Ministry of Digital's national learning platform. Finish the modules on AI safety, cyber safety, generative AI, agentic AI, cloud and MADANI principles, and 100,000 Malaysians aged 18 to 30 get three months of leading AI applications free from 31 August 2026.
The free software is limited to ages 18 to 30. The learning platform itself is open to every Malaysian, including business owners and senior staff.
Register now. The free AI access phase opens 31 August 2026.
Open rakyatdigital.gov.my → https://rakyatdigital.gov.my/
Local AI and digital marketing training at NADI centres nationwide. NADI is Malaysia's network of community internet centres, run by the Communications and Multimedia Commission, and a recent push specifically supports women entrepreneurs.
Community entrepreneurs. Exact terms vary by centre.
Contact your nearest centre for its current schedule.
Open nadi.my → https://www.nadi.my/tentang-nadi?lang=enFrom 31 August 2026, 100,000 Malaysians aged 18 to 30 who finish the Rakyat Digital modules get three months of leading AI apps free. If your staff are in that age band, that's real budget you don't spend.
Two free ways to get hands on AI without spending anything, both with a real way in.
Free AI training run here by Limitless Lab, aimed at 17,500 Filipino MSMEs by 2027. Four modules, roughly two and a half hours, self-paced, with a certificate. There is also a free AI toolkit in English and Tagalog, and illustrated editions written for sari-sari store owners, farmers and cooperatives, and carinderias.
Filipino small business owners. Built for beginners, so no technical background is needed.
Download the toolkit or enrol in the free course.
Open limitlessbiz.limitlesslab.org → https://limitlessbiz.limitlesslab.org/
A free one-to-one assessment from the DOST, the Department of Science and Technology. Their engineers look at how your business actually runs and match you with AI, robotics, automation or data tools that fit. DOST has said it aims to reach 10,000 small businesses.
Open and needs-based. No formal size test is published.
Send an enquiry through the contact form. They reply within four working days.
Open amerial.dost.gov.ph → https://amerial.dost.gov.ph/contactLimitless Lab wrote the AI guides as illustrated comics for sari-sari store owners, farmers and carinderias, in Tagalog. Nothing else in this atlas is pitched that close to the ground.
Free hands-on training rolling out province by province, plus a subsidised course you can book this month.
Free AI training run here by Kenan Foundation Asia with Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology, aimed at 18,700 Vietnamese MSMEs. Full-day hands-on sessions covering AI for management, marketing, sales, online selling, finance and daily operations, rolling out province by province.
Vietnamese micro, small and medium enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses.
Sessions are announced province by province. Contact Kenan through the project page to find the next one near you.
Open kenan-asia.org → https://kenan-asia.org/project/aim-asean/
A subsidised course from VCCI, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on building AI assistants for marketing, HR, accounts and sales, plus automated reporting. The government covers half the fee: VND1,000,000 in person in Hanoi or VND700,000 online for the comprehensive course, VND1,400,000 for the advanced session — subsidy already applied.
Open to businesses. No revenue or headcount test is published.
Register for the advanced session on 8 September 2026. The 25–26 August run has finished; VCCI schedules new intakes through the year, so check the page for the next comprehensive course.
Open vcci.com.vn → https://www.vcci.com.vn/en/event-vcci/chuoi-dao-tao-ung-dung-ai-trong-quan-tri-doanh-nghiepThe government pays half the course fee. You're booking a seat for VND700,000 online, with the subsidy already applied.
The most generous entry point in the region for the smallest businesses, and a second scheme with a hard deadline in September.
Free AI training run here by Kenan Foundation Asia. The course starts with AI basics and how to write good prompts, moves through getting your people, systems and data ready, then applies AI to marketing, customer communication and cutting costs.
Thai small businesses, community enterprises and cooperatives.
Register for the course. There is no fee.
Open kenan-asia.org → https://kenan-asia.org/aimasean-th/registration/
A free trial of participating AI and digital tools for at least six months, from depa, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency. No membership fee and no application fee. They review applications at least twice a month, and your supplier installs within three months.
Thai-registered companies, sole traders, registered partnerships, street vendors, stall holders and fresh-market traders, registered farmers and farmer-group members, and people producing or selling basic farm goods. Anyone who already received the OTOD Digital Durian support is excluded.
Apply on the project site or through the government Thang Rat app. You cannot change technology once you have applied, so choose carefully.
Open aitransform.depa.or.th → https://aitransform.depa.or.th/
The co-funded track of the same programme, for businesses ready to buy instead of trialling. It puts money toward an approved AI or digital product from the Thailand Digital Catalog.
Thai small businesses in commerce, industry or farming. Same intake as the d-voucher track.
Same application route, but choose the d-transform track. Product catalogues for both tracks are linked from the homepage.
Open aitransform.depa.or.th/vapp → https://aitransform.depa.or.th/vapp
Run by OSMEP, Thailand's Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, on its Business Development Service platform. It pays 50% of the cost, up to THB 500,000, toward vetted digital services. The catalogue includes AI tools alongside accounting systems, websites and energy platforms.
Small businesses. Manufacturers up to THB 500M annual revenue, other sectors up to THB 300M.
Submit a proposal between 5 August and 30 September 2026, 17:00. Funded work must finish by 30 September 2027.
Open bds.sme.go.th → https://bds.sme.go.th/Project/Detail/15
From the BOI, Thailand's Board of Investment. You get import duty waived on machinery plus a five year corporate income tax exemption worth 100% of what you invest in AI and machine learning.
At least 51% Thai-owned, revenue under THB 500M, and at least THB 500,000 invested.
Prepare an improvement plan and submit it through the BOI online system.
Open boi.go.th → https://www.boi.go.th/th/SME_policies4The depa free trial is open to street vendors, market stall holders and farmers, not just registered companies. Six months of AI tools, no fee and no application charge.
Free expert help is the model here, not cash. Real people, real time, no cost.
Free training, one-to-one consultations and adoption roadmaps through four specialist centres: SMEC AI for medical science, agriculture and renewables, ARM Hub for manufacturing and robotics, SAAM for safe adoption tools, and ARAIN for regional industries.
Australian small and medium businesses in National Reconstruction Fund priority sectors, generally those trading interstate or overseas. Each centre screens for its own sector.
Find the centre that matches your industry and contact it directly.
Open business.gov.au → https://business.gov.au/expertise-and-advice/ai-adopt-centres
Free workshops and webinars on AI, digital marketing and cybersecurity, plus up to five hours of one-to-one advice from a qualified business adviser for a small fee. Eight regional providers cover every state and territory.
Australian small businesses under 20 full-time staff, including sole traders.
Choose your local provider and contact them.
Open business.gov.au → https://business.gov.au/expertise-and-advice/digital-solutions-australian-small-business-advisory-services
A four hour AI Build Day where you build a working AI agent or workflow for A$50, plus five hours of one-to-one coaching for A$100, plus six months of community access. Delivered by simplefy.ai.
South Australian small and family businesses, under 20 full-time staff, with an active Australian Business Number.
Applications are open. Register directly.
Open business.sa.gov.au → https://business.sa.gov.au/programs/ai-capability-pilot-programThe largest direct co-funding in the whole set, with real fine print worth reading first.
Run by MBIE, New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. It covers up to 50%, to a maximum of NZ$15,000, for you to work with experts on finding AI opportunities and putting them into daily operations. Demand was strong enough that it grew from 50 to 150 businesses, eligibility widened, and it now runs until 31 January 2027.
New Zealand registered small or medium business, trading 12 months or more, able to fund its own share.
Sign up with the Regional Business Partner Network. It takes 5 to 10 minutes and an advisor contacts you within five working days.
Open business.govt.nz → https://www.business.govt.nz/strategy-and-performance/regional-business-partner-networkIt's 50% co-funding, not a free NZ$15,000 handout. You still cover the rest. Confirm your exact eligibility with your local Regional Business Partner, not a single article.
Five Agents builds and runs done-for-you AI agents on Claude, wired into the tools you already use (Xero, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Gmail, DocuSign, and more), so the reporting, follow-ups, and busywork just happen. No prompting, no maintaining connectors yourself.
Already running for
“We used to spend hours every week on content and reporting. Now it just happens — and the quality is better than what we were doing manually. It’s like having a full marketing team that never sleeps.”
— Director, NPC Office · Jakarta, Indonesia- ✓Real Estate Investment — Four tools became one system
- ✓International logistics group — 5 companies, centrally managed
- ✓Private Jet Charter & Aircraft Management — Running with no one managing it
A grant pays for the tool. It doesn’t build the thing.
Most of the programmes above fund software or training, not the system that actually runs your business. We build that part — agents wired straight into your stack, live in days, not months. Bring the grant; we’ll bring the build.
“The right opportunities land in front of us automatically, already screened, and we just decide what to pursue.”
— Charles Lintakoon, Co-founder, Adana Capital