Singapore's S$48M Scheme Helps Media Firms Adopt AI and Create Digital Content
Source: CNA
Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched a S$48 million (US$37.3 million) programme to help media companies create digital content and adopt artificial intelligence workflows.
Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched a S$48 million (US$37.3 million) programme to help media companies create digital content and adopt artificial intelligence workflows. The Digital Content and Capability Development (DCCD) initiative, announced by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How, will run over four years and targets a media industry that is rapidly shifting to short-form, platform-native formats.
The programme is structured around two pillars. The Digital Content Development track funds creation and distribution of content for social platforms, digital channels, and mobile-first formats, with an emphasis on Singapore stories that resonate across age groups. The Capability Development track explicitly targets AI-assisted workflows for content production and localisation, enabling media professionals to spend more time on creative direction, storytelling, and business development rather than technical production. Companies must go through a twice-yearly accreditation exercise; the first round already accredited 117 firms, and the inaugural call for proposals opened June 18 with a July 31 deadline.
The DCCD programme lands as 87% of people in Singapore aged 15 and above consume content on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook weekly — a behavioural shift that has compressed production timelines and forced media houses to experiment with AI tools. It builds on IMDA's existing S$200 million talent accelerator programme from December 2025, signalling sustained government commitment to media sector transformation. Separately, media professionals can develop AI skills under the National AI Impact Programme, which aims to train 100,000 non-tech professionals across all industries to become "AI bilingual" over three years, with SkillsFuture credits and NTUC training assistance covering costs.
Why it matters for Singapore: This is one of the most direct government interventions yet to bridge AI adoption gaps in Singapore's creative industries. By subsidising both content production and AI capability building under a single programme, IMDA is effectively trying to prevent Singapore's media sector from being hollowed out by global platform algorithms. The accreditation model — 117 companies already qualified — means the infrastructure for rapid deployment is already in place, and the July 31 deadline creates immediate near-term momentum for companies that have been waiting for funding signals.