Venturing into a new market is risky and costly. Thus, it is advisable for Singapore’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to make optimum use of the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant to grow their businesses internationally.
The rollout the MRA grant indicates that there is a chance for SMEs to acquire government’s financial support in expanding their business profile into the global market.
But how does it work and what are the requirements you need to qualify? Let’s delve deeper into the fundamentals of the Singapore government funding.
Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant is a funding program offered by Enterprise Singapore to help Singapore incorporated companies to tap into overseas markets by providing financial assistance. This includes support for the following:
The enhancement period for the MRA Grant is from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2023.
Click here for the full list of supportable activities.
MRA grant offers funding up to 70% of eligible costs that companies incur on qualifying activities. For instance, identification of overseas business partners, marketing and promoting their products and services overseas. Moreover, the grant is capped at S$100,000 per company per new market with the following activity sub-caps:
To be eligible to apply for the MRA Grant, your company should meet the following criteria:
Otherwise, the application is likely to be rejected if the company:
To begin, submit your application at Business Grants Portal (BGP). Applications must be made at least 6 months before kick-starting the overseas project.
Each application is only limited to one activity in single overseas market. In other words, a company is granted with application on multiple markets simultaneously, provided that new market criteria are met and projects are within each activity grant sub-cap.
Here’s the MRA Grant application flowchart from start to finish for your quick reference.
Remember to keep track of your application status through the BGP and wait for IE Singapore’s Letter of Offer.
At the end of the project, you are required to submit all claims through the BGP within three months from project end date for disbursement.
Note that all expenses of the approved activity need to be audited. Companies must assign an Enterprise Singapore auditor to verify the eligibility, authenticity, and accuracy of the items listed in the Statement of Claim.
For more information, refer to Annex 6 of your Letter of Offer in the BGP for the contact details of Enterprise Singapore-appointed auditors upon approval of the MRA grant.
For more information on the programme details, please visit the Enterprise Singapore website.
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