Grants & Assistance
Developing SMEs

 

Did you know that Singapore government has been developing a set of economic reform policies to help our Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through financial Grants & Assistance ?

With innovation in technology and softwares, global reach is easily achieved through the internet platform. While this also poses an increasing global competitiveness for SMEs to compete both locally and globally. Singapore government has recognised the need for SMEs  to develop new capabilities and innovation in order to stay competitive and create long-term competitiveness of Singapore’s economy. As a result, the Singapore government has been reviewing and rolled out a series of improved grants & assistance schemes for the easy adoption by SMEs.

Crownmercado is a practitioner to assist SMEs who are ready to embark on developing new capabilities in the areas of Branding & Marketing, as well as innovation to help you achieve increased productivity, profitability and total sales revenue. Some of the activities offered under our umbrella of services are supportable and funding defrays up to 70%* of the qualifying costs (subject to the criteria set out by various grants & assistance schemes) by different agencies.

SME Eligibility for Grants & Assistance

  • Registered and operating in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding
  • Group annual sales turnover ≤ S$100m or group employment of ≤200 employees

*All applications and funding amount are subject to individual agency’s approval and the criteria set out by individual grants & assistance scheme.

(Credit: All information extracted and laid out on this page are only for your simple understanding and read up. They are property belonging to the various agencies; Spring Singapore, IE Singapore and IRAS. Information  extracted are in accordance to the relevant grants & assistance schemes and web pages, which are correct as of Jan 2016.)

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Capability Development Grant (CDG)

CDG by Spring Singapore

 

Get up to 70% of qualifying costs defrayed by the CDG grants & assistance.

 

Ready for the next phase of growth? The Capability Development Grant (CDG) is a financial grants & assistance programme that helps you build capabilities across 10 key business areas, ranging from raising service standards, adopting technology to staff training and overseas expansion. The grant supports a wide range of capability upgrading initiatives to help you grow your businesses locally and globally.

This CDG grants & assistance scheme defrays up to 70 percent* of qualifying project costs such as consultancy, training, certification and equipment costs. You can take on large scale upgrading projects in areas like increasing productivity, process improvement, product development and market access.

To encourage more SMEs to build business capabilities, the application process for grant support of S$30,000 or less has been simplified. You can look forward to simpler application forms and reduced documentation requirements for such projects.

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

SMEs can use brand development as a strategy to enhance business competitiveness, identify their unique proposition and differentiate themselves from their competitors. A well-planned and executed brand strategy can help SMEs grow market share, increase brand value, build customer loyalty, and even attract and retain talent in the competitive marketplace.

Supported activities:

  • Conducting a brand audit
  • Developing a brand position across key products/service offerings and target segments
  • Developing a brand strategy and roadmap
  • Developing a visual identity system to align all customer touch-points and reinforce brand strategy
  • Conducting brand advisory and education to ensure internal alignment

MARKETING STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

An effective and well-executed marketing strategy helps SMEs define their market position, identify business priorities, and understand their target audience. It provides clarity and strategic direction to their marketing efforts, including the development of marketing messages and budgets, and can result in better customer acquisition and retention rates.

Supported activities:

  • Conducting market research
  • Defining target market(s) and market positioning across key products and services
  • Prioritising business and marketing objectives
  • Developing a marketing strategy
  • Establishing an implementation roadmap to achieve marketing objectives

Crownmercado, a practitioner for online marketing activities, will handhold you through the process for the development of Branding and Marketing strategies to the application of the above CDG grants & assistance scheme. This type of grants and assistance allows you to minimise your investment cost but yet increase your capabilities and/or productivity to achieve overall business goals.

Read more on Spring website

CDG Brochure

Market Readiness Assistance (MRA)

MRA by IE Singapore

 

Get up to $20k funding for SEO, SEM, Social Media Strategies – activities for promoting your business overseas!

 

Entering a new overseas market can be daunting and intimidating with many factors to consider. The IE Singapore’s Assistance Programme, Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant could be the answer you are searching for. It is designed to accelerate the international expansion of Singapore SMEs by taking baby steps to test and study market response.

The MRA Grant aims to help local SMEs buffer the challenging move of entering into unchartered and unfamiliar markets overseas, and also to defray the high cost of venturing overseas to capture and expanding market share through Overseas Market Promotion program.

IE Singapore co-funds 70% of the eligible third-party professional fees for your Online Marketing activities, capped at S$20,000 per company per year. What that means is the government is ready to shoulder your risks in venturing overseas and all you need is only a small investment of 30% costs to embark on internationalisation plan.

Crownmercado, a practitioner for online marketing activities, will handhold you to create an effective online marketing plan to target the right audiences and geographical markets. Adding on to an effective process of any market research, analytics is an important tool which we will produce a report to help you measure and analyse the market response, in order you implement the right strategies to achieving future overseas success.

Get financial help for your business today.

Read more on IE website

MRA Brochure

Productivity Innovation Credit (PIC)

PIC by IRAS

 

Get up to 400% tax deductions/allownaces and/or 60% cash payout for investments made in any of the Six Qualifying Activities from the Years of Assessment (YAs) 2013 to 2018.

 

PIC stands for Productivity & Innovation Credit (PIC). The PIC scheme was introduced in 2010 Singapore budget to encourage companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to invest more in productivity and innovation. Businesses can enjoy huge tax savings or cash payout when they invest in any of the 6 productivity improvement activities. 

Under the PIC Scheme, businesses can enjoy 400% tax deductions/allowances and/or 60% cash payoutfor investments made in any of the Six Qualifying Activities from the Years of Assessment (YAs) 2013 to 2018.

These activities include:

  1. Training of employees,
  2. Acquisition or leasing of PIC automation equipment,
  3. Acquisition of intellectual property rights,
  4. Investment in design projects approved by the Design Singapore Council,
  5. Research and development activities,
  6. Registration of patents, trademarks, designs and plant varieties.

Software adoption and trainings on online marketing and/or other functions which automates certain functions or increase in business productivity thorough redesign of certain workflows, are eligible for the above grant.

Crownmercado, a practitioner for online marketing activities, will handhold you through the process for the appropriate software adoption and application of the above grant. This grant allows you to minimise your investment cost but yet increase your capabilities and productivity to achieve overall business goals.

Read more on IRAS website

PIC Brochure

Marketing Assistance

Marketing Assistance by MDA 

 

Get up to $25,000 per fund recipient per calendar year of events (based on the start date of the event).

 

Marketing Assistance helps media companies market their productions to their target audience and grow overseas demand for Singapore-produced content. Companies can apply for Marketing Assistance to defray the cost of expenses related to travel, as well as marketing and promotion of content at events listed here. These events are carefully reviewed on an annual basis and the selection is based on their relevance to Singapore’s media industry, their reputation and the strong industry attendance rate.

Who can apply? 

  • Individual applicant must be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident. [Note: Individual application applies only to Film Sector]
  • Singapore-registered organisations with at least one Media Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) code.

What MDA supports

MDA will defray the costs for:

  • airfare
  • living allowance
  • market badge
  • booth rental
  • marketing and promotion
  • digital format transfer

Crownmercado will handhold you through your marketing development and the application of the above grant. This grant helps you to market and promote your business to expand beyond international waters.

Read more on MDA website

MDA Brochure

Enhanced Training Support for SMEs

Enhanced Training Support for SMEs by WDA

 

Get up to 90% course fee subsidy for your employees!

 

The enhanced training support is extended to local employees of companies that are registered or incorporated in Singapore with at least 30% local shareholding being held by Singapore Citizens (SCs) or Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) and, hiring not more than 200 employees (at group level) or with an annual sales turnover (at group level) of not more than S$100 million). These employees must be fully sponsored by their employers to attend training. In addition, WDA will work with industry associations and agencies so that self-employed persons can also benefit from the enhanced training support through targeted programmes.

More than 8,000 courses fall under this scheme. This includes certifiable courses supported by WDA and academic CET courses offered by the five Polytechnics/Institute of Technical Education.

The enhanced training support scheme includes the following:

A) Higher Course Fee Funding

SMEs will enjoy subsidies of 90% of the course fees when they sponsor their employees for the above-mentioned CET courses. All employers of workers who meet the eligibility criteria for Workfare Training Support (WTS) scheme will continue to receive course fee funding under the WTS scheme.

B) Increased Absentee Payroll Cap

In addition to higher course fee funding, SMEs can also claim absentee payroll funding of 80% of basic hourly salary at a higher cap of $7.50 per hour, a significant increase over the normal cap of $4.50 per hour. All employers of workers who meet the eligibility criteria for Workfare Training Support (WTS) scheme will continue to enjoy absentee payroll funding under the WTS scheme.

SMEs which meet all of the following criteria can qualify for the enhanced training support:

  • Organisation must be registered or incorporated in Singapore
  • At least 30% local shareholding by Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Resident
  • Employment size of not more than 200 (at group level) or With annual sales turnover (at group level) of not more than $100 million
  • Trainee must be a Singapore Citizen (*Permanent Residents of Singapore also qualify for higher funding for certifiable courses supported by WDA, except for Academic CET courses at the Polytechnics/ITE)
  • Trainee must be bona fide employee (i.e. hired in accordance with Employment Act) and fully employer sponsored for the training)

The following types of training are covered under the Enhanced Training Support for SMEs:

  • All certifiable courses supported by WDA
  • Academic CET courses at the Polytechnics / ITE

Crownmercado will recommend specific courses that will help increase productivity and effectiveness in your organisation and handhold you through the application process.

Read more on WDA website 

Funding for Employer-Based Training

Funding for Employer-Based Training by WDA

 

Get up to 95% of course fee subsidy for your employees!

 

Course Fee Subsidies and Absentee Payroll Funding are available for employers sponsoring employees who are either a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.

 

There are 2 types of Course Fee Subsidies:

  • Courses conducted by External Training Providers
  • Courses conducted by In-house Instructors

 

Absentee Payroll Funding 

WDA also funds your employee’s salary while he/she is undergoing training. Get up to 95% of hourly basic salary funding.

Crownmercado will assist you in the process of application as well as to recommend suitable courses to help improve productivity and effectiveness in your business.

 

Read more on WDA website

Have a project?

We can help and handhold you through the entire process of application of the appropriate funding for the approved supportable activities.

Let’s embark on developing your capabilities now.

Let's embark!