You’re reached a point in your business where things are stablising, revenue
is coming in regularly and you are contemplating your next expansion plan.
Or maybe increasing competition in market has gotten you thinking about
ways to innovate in order to stand out. Or perhaps you are struggling with a
lot of manual processes in your workflows and you are thinking of to operate
more efficiently.
In a nutshell, all of the above scenarios require some level of capital
investment (some more than others) and you are unsure if are of these
expenditures will return on investment.
If you identify with any of the above scenarios above and are apprehensive
about spending the additional capital (we’ve all been there), the Singapore
government has provided a few grants to support local businesses looking to
progress via upgrading, innovation or expansion overseas. Out of the grants
available, for today’s sharing, we will be focusing on the Enterprise
Development Grant (EDG) as it covers the main scenarios highlighted above.
So, what is the EDG? The EDG is a government grant in Singapore that helps
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to upgrade and transform
their businesses. The grant provides financial support to SMEs to implement
projects that will enhance their business capabilities, improve productivity,
and build a strong foundation for long-term growth. While you can apply for
the grant on your own, it would increase your chances of having your grant
approved through a certified consultant. The EDG can be applied under 3
main categories: Core Capabilities, Innovation and Productivity, and Market
Expansion (which each category having sub categories). These categories
can manifest in a few different ways – transformation of workflow and
processes, optimising operations, strengthening core business units through
training and policy making, research and analysis of market… just to name a
few.
As expected there are certain criteria to be met before applying for the
grant. Based on the current website, the eligibility criteria as follows:
– The business entity is registered and operating in Singapore
– Has at least 30% local shareholding
– Be in a financially viable position to start and complete the project
The current subsidy amount is up to 80% for food & beverage and retail
businesses and 70% for other small medium enterprises (SMEs). Please take
note that the current processing time is between 2 to 6 months as there are
many applications being submitted monthly. Also note that not everyone can
apply for the grant but rather the application needs to be applied through a
registered management consultant (RMC) – as the name implies have been
approved by the government. A bonus would be if your service provider is
also a RMC. Finally, work can only start after the grant has been applied for.
Having said that, while we all love subsidies there are a few considerations
you would need to take note of. Firstly, the lead time for application to
approval (assuming all criteria are met) to implementation can take up to a
couple of months or even a year. In business, time to market is always a
crucial factor and there are instances where it would be more beneficial
overall to start work without a grant and reap the rewards later instead of
applying for the grant and miss the opportune time for launch.
Another consideration would be limited applications – once a sub category
has been applied for and approval, your business would not be able to apply
for the grant under that same category. It would therefore make better
sense to hold off on the grant application first and save it for a bigger
business transformation instead of using it for a smaller scale project.
We hope this succinct article has provided you sufficient insight on what EDG
is all about, it’s benefits and also the considerations for it. If you still have
any questions please feel free to contact and we’ll be happy to share more !
