THE business community in Singapore has pledged to help local businesses ride out the recession.

The Young Business Leaders (YBL), a network of Singaporean business leaders and entrepreneurs, took a pledge on May 20 to reach out and help local businesses and Singaporeans through the tough economic times.

Representatives from the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises also took the pledge to encourage, empower and engage local businesses.

The initiative was kicked off by the network's web portal www.itstartstoday.com.sg which serves as a resource for cross-industry and sector business case studies, help packages, programmes, activities and job opportunities from various business organisations.

Mr Palanikumar Ayasamy Pillai, Group CEO of TNBT, said: 'We currently have 190 job vacancies ranging from food and beverage, retail and advertising as well as a growing bank of case studies on strategies and policies to empower Singaporean businesses and citizens to beat the recesssion.'

He hopes that interested young entrepreneurs will come forward to be mentored and guided by the YBL members.