Social enterprise using sentiment analysis at call centre among 30 winners of SME AI Impact Awards

Published Oct 13, 2026, 09:44 PM

Updated Oct 13, 2026, 09:44 PM

SINGAPORE – Whenever a customer calls a contact centre run by social enterprise Agape Connecting People, the operator already has a good idea of the customer’s emotions and how to conduct the conversation.

This real-time sentiment analysis done through artificial intelligence helps the operator to de-escalate tension and respond with greater empathy.

For its use of AI in daily operations, the social enterprise was among 30 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognised at the first SME AI Impact Awards ceremony on Oct 13.

Organised by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Business Federation, the award recognises businesses that either developed and used their proprietary AI solutions or successfully implemented ready-to-use or off-the-shelf solutions.

Agape Connecting People has various businesses, including contact centres, one of which is at Changi Women’s Prison – now called Institution A4 at Changi Prison Complex.

Founder Anil David said the social enterprise adapted off-the-shelf technology after consulting staff on their pain points and exploring how AI could s upport their work.

Beyond gauging caller emotions, the AI system provides customer data based on past calls. With clear customer profiles, the operators now spend less time gathering i nformation during the calls.

“They can spend more time interacting with (the customers) ...and all the admin workload is taken away, so they find that they are more effective,” said Anil.

Presenting the awards at the annual SMEs Go Digital Day, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said finding and using the right AI tools is only the first step. The real value comes when SMEs build the capabilities, processes and talent needed to adopt AI for tangible business impact, and make it a core component of their operations, she added.

The minister said many of the contenders for the awards either started as AI natives or are fast becoming effective “AI adoptive parents,” and their experiences offer valuable lessons for other SMEs seeking to follow suit.

In total, there were 290 nominations across 21 sectors that include early childhood, security, personal care services, talent and recruitment, as well as healthcare.

The criteria include the significance of the business challenge, the effectiveness of the AI solution, and quantifiable outcomes such as productivity gains and financial benefits. Another area of assessment was how a company trained its staff and adapted its work processes.

Another award winner was aquaculture company Blue Aqua International, which introduced AI into its farm operations about 1½ years ago.

Founder and executive chairman Farshad Shishehchian said the technology analyses information such as water quality data and biological data from fish and shrimp.

It also predicts what may happen in one or two weeks, aiding in decision-making.

The technology has improved shrimp feeding efficiency by about 30%, leading to a reduction in wastage and the amount of feed required to achieve the same shrimp growth.

In addition , water quality anomalies and disease risks can be flagged four to seven days earlier.

Farshad said livestock and farming is a business that deals with many unknown factors such as environmental changes and diseases.

“AI has this capability that connects these things very quickly, much faster than human, and gives you a conclusion,” he said.

Despite the adoption of AI, Farshad emphasised that staff remain vital to farm operations.

“AI cannot do the physical work. We encourage our team to be more productive in terms of understanding the system,” he said.

AI/artificial intelligence

发布于 2026 年 10 月 13 日晚上 9:44

更新于2026年10月13日晚上9:44

新加坡——每当客户致电社会企业 Agape Connecting People 运营的呼叫中心时，接线员就已经对客户的情绪以及如何进行对话有了很好的了解。

通过人工智能进行的实时情感分析可以帮助操作员缓解紧张局势，并以更大的同理心做出回应。

由于在日常运营中使用人工智能，这家社会企业在 10 月 13 日举行的首届中小企业人工智能影响力奖颁奖典礼上，与另外 30 家中小企业一起获得了表彰。

该奖项由新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局和新加坡商业联合会联合举办，旨在表彰那些开发并使用其专有人工智能解决方案或成功实施现成解决方案的企业。

Agape Connecting People 拥有各种业务，包括联络中心，其中一个联络中心位于樟宜女子监狱——现在称为樟宜监狱综合体的 A4 机构。

创始人阿尼尔·戴维表示，这家社会企业在咨询员工的痛点并探索人工智能如何支持他们的工作后，采用了现成的技术。

除了评估来电者的情绪外，该人工智能系统还能根据过往通话提供客户数据。有了清晰的客户档案，客服人员在通话过程中收集信息的时间就大大减少了。

“他们可以花更多时间与（客户）互动……而且所有的行政工作都由别人承担，所以他们发现自己的工作效率更高了，”阿尼尔说。

在年度中小企业数字化转型日颁奖典礼上，新加坡数码发展及新闻部长杨莉明表示，找到并使用合适的AI工具仅仅是第一步。她补充说，真正的价值在于中小企业构建必要的能力、流程和人才，从而将AI应用于业务，并使其成为运营的核心组成部分，最终实现切实可见的商业影响。

部长表示，许多奖项的竞争者要么是人工智能领域的原住民，要么正在迅速成为高效的“人工智能养父母”，他们的经验可以为其他希望效仿的中小企业提供宝贵的借鉴。

总共有 290 项提名，涵盖 21 个领域，包括幼儿教育、安保、个人护理服务、人才招聘以及医疗保健。

评估标准包括业务挑战的重要性、人工智能解决方案的有效性以及可量化的成果，例如生产力提升和财务收益。另一项评估内容是公司如何培训员工以及如何调整工作流程。

另一家获奖公司是水产养殖公司 Blue Aqua International，该公司大约在 1 年半前将人工智能引入其养殖场运营中。

创始人兼执行主席法沙德·希舍奇安表示，该技术可以分析水质数据以及鱼虾的生物数据等信息。

它还可以预测未来一两周内可能发生的事情，帮助人们做出决策。

该技术使虾的饲料效率提高了约 30%，从而减少了浪费和达到相同虾生长所需的饲料量。

此外，水质异常和疾病风险可以提前四到七天被发现。

法沙德表示，畜牧业和农业是一个会受到许多未知因素影响的行业，例如环境变化和疾病。

他说：“人工智能有能力将这些事物联系起来，速度比人类快得多，并给出结论。”

尽管采用了人工智能，但法沙德强调，员工对农场运营仍然至关重要。

“人工智能无法完成体力劳动。我们鼓励团队在理解系统方面提高效率，”他说。

人工智能