Stepping into the business after her grandfather passed, Claire Ariela Shen knew Dona Manis Cake Shop would be faced with a major challenge.
The traditional bakery, founded in 1992 in the basement of Katong Shopping Centre, would need to keep up with the times.
A previous partner had also exited the bakery, leaving Shen in charge of a business which had often operated along trust-based systems and personal relationships – neither of which she had been deeply involved in building. neither of which she had been deeply involved in building.
“There was no proper cash register, transactions were largely cash-based, and records were kept in a handwritten booklet my grandfather maintained,” said Shen, chief heritage officer of Dona Manis. She saw that a digital transformation would be needed to keep the business sustainable.
These challenges are not unique to Shen’s case; many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South-east Asia face similar obstacles when seeking to scale.
The relevant digital tools are difficult to identify; furthermore, SMEs with tight budgets and limited time are unable to experiment freely with such instruments.
UOB FinLab, the innovation accelerator launched in 2015, has spent the last decade helping businesses across the region bridge these gaps.
“UOB FinLab came at a time when we needed both structure and guidance – practical tools paired with a supportive ecosystem that understood the realities of small, heritage-rooted businesses,” said Shen, who participated in the Womanpreneur digitalisation innovation programme run by FinLab.
Structure came in the form of providing strategic frameworks to better understand her vision for the business, she said.
Meanwhile, guidance in the form of social media and communication modules proved to be enlightening for Shen, while access to resources such as preferential financing options and Web-hosting support enabled her to take tangible steps towards growing the business.
“Equally meaningful was the community itself,” noted Shen. “It reminded me that entrepreneurship does not have to be a solitary journey.”
Shannon Lung, head of UOB FinLab, explained that the accelerator was founded in 2015 with the mandate to support emerging technology innovators, mainly among fintech startups.
Ten years later, FinLab’s mandate has evolved to support SMEs – in all industries and across South-east Asia – to leverage its ecosystem and programmes to achieve growth.
This includes connecting businesses to UOB’s regional network, providing commercial validation pathways and running transformation programmes tailored to each market’s needs, Lung told The Business Times.
Nearly two years after Shen first participated in FinLab’s programme, she noted that Dona Manis has taken crucial steps to modernise.
“We now operate with a point-of-sale system and have expanded into online ordering and delivery platforms,” she said.
Shen added that much of the bakery’s internal documentation has moved to cloud-based systems, such as accounting and human resources software.
“While we still remain a relatively small team, these tools have helped us grow in a more sustainable and manageable way,” she said.
But for businesses across South-east Asia, FinLab’s support goes beyond its ability to drive local transformation.
“Our Asean footprint is our differentiating factor,” said Lung. “It transforms us from a traditional accelerator into a regional growth catalyst.”
UOB FinLab’s presence within South-east Asia spans Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
By connecting SMEs and startups with UOB’s regional network, FinLab enables these enterprises to ecosystem access to government agencies, solution providers, institutes of higher learning, Lung told BT.
This ecosystem also enables FinLab to connect companies with each other – through corporate partnerships, industry associations and even matching businesses with potential customers.
Such regional connections are critical to the expansion hopes of AltoTech Global, a Bangkok-based energy management solutions company which participated in FinLab’s GreenTech Accelerator programme in 2024.
This was a six-month programme spanning Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, where SMEs were challenged to tackle real-world sustainability problems and create solutions.
Dr Warodom Khamphanchai, chief executive officer of AltoTech, said that the programme helped the company, which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things technology to optimise heating, ventilation and air-conditioning operations, to refine its product for expansion beyond Thailand.
“Throughout the programme, we provided AltoTech with the strategic support essential for scaling, from deep-dive mentorship and industry matching to access to our strong regional ecosystem,” said Lung.
Through the Greentech Accelerator, the Thai company participated in the Singapore Fintech Festival, and even ran a pilot project within a UOB building.
Dr Warodom told BT that AltoTech intends to establish a stronger presence in Singapore over the next year, viewing UOB as a strategic partner in this endeavour.
He noted that not every market can be won over by technology alone; a potential entrant needs to build trust among local partners, while the capability to execute in foreign markets is never guaranteed.
“UOB’s ecosystem helps us connect with relevant stakeholders,” he added. “This reduces time (taken) to the first project and helps us adapt our delivery and commercial approach to each market’s expectations.”
Lung explained that cultural norms in different countries could influence business priorities and adoption rates unevenly.
“Each Asean market has distinct digital maturity, regulatory frameworks, and business culture expectations, which shape how we design and deliver our programmes,” he said.
Through FinLab, more specific support solutions can be tailored to different countries’ contexts, Lung noted.
For example, the Jom Transform programme for Malaysian SMEs was designed to aid businesses looking to enter markets for halal goods and services through obtaining the proper certifications and enhancing their digital capabilities to achieve growth.
Aligning with the growth trajectories of regional economies has also been a crucial element of FinLab’s mission to support innovation-driven transformation.
As regional economies and businesses sought to find their footing during the Covid-19 pandemic, FinLab chose to expand into markets including Vietnam and Indonesia, where initiatives related to sustainability and AI were launched to align with regional growth priorities.
“Ultimately, our ambition is to continue being a future-ready innovation partner,” said Lung.
“We help SMEs anticipate change, seize new opportunities and build the resilience they need for the decade ahead.”
This Press Release is adapted from “Across digital gaps and borders, UOB’s FinLab helps businesses build bridges”, originally published by The Business Times on 18th November 2025.
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