How to get a government grant to kickstart your tech idea in Singapore

So you got a great tech idea and want to develop it into a MVP? At the idea stage, it is very hard to get angels to fund you. That is where the iJAM.Reload development grant (or iJAM for short) comes in, to support early stage start-ups get off the ground in building their product.

The iJAM program, run by the good people of MDA IDMPO, has been in existence for about four years now, with many Singapore start-ups benefitting from this program. In short, the program gives out up to S$150k in development grants (S$50k Tier-1 and S$100k Tier-2), combined with a S$100k co-investment during Tier-2, to give a total of S$250k in the program.

In the past, there’s been a lot of confusion as to what this development grant can do or not do. Tech in Asia wrote an article in 2013 to help clarify those confusions. Since then, the program has vastly improved in terms of administration.

Angels Gate Advisory, one of the ten appointed iJAM incubators, receives about an average of 15 queries per week. And despite having a detailed information on the iJAM website, we found many other questions being asked. To help everyone along, we at Angels Gate have put together an FAQ specifically on the Tier-1 level. We hope it will give you a decent informed decision on whether the iJAM program is right for you.

Who is this development grant meant for?

This development grant is meant for Singapore-based interactive digital media (IDM) tech start-ups who are in idea stage or have done some basic framework (ie. Angel or pre-seed stage). The spirit of the grant is to help start-ups get off the ground to develop their tech product.

If you are raising up to S$250k in the next 9-12 months, this is the development grant for you. This would not be suited for those start-ups which have established themselves and are on a high traction growth.

How is the criteria like to obtain the grant?

A set of criteria is required to be met, but most importantly you need a technical co-founder, a technical innovation and a minimum of 20% Singaporean citizen/PR founder ownership. Your tech co-founder must have the relevant technical experience of doing programming or tech project execution and implementation.

For technical innovation, your solution must be better than current methods in the business you choose. You need to show that the innovation is dynamic, defensible, not easily copied by others. This is the key crux of confirming whether you will get the development grant or not. Having experienced technical team members who can explain the innovation is also key.

How long is the process for Tier-1?

The process has been simplified by the good people at IDMPO. A live review session takes place every first Thursday of the month, where three independent panel members will attend. You will be given a timeslot to make your technical presentation and the panel members will decide whether to support your funding or not. You will need two of three panel members to say yes. It will take a few days for the IDMPO and confirmed whether there has been a successful approval. Once you are successful, you can start receiving funding immediately for your development work.

At Angels Gate, we generally recommend a month’s preparation before meeting the live review session. Two major things are required: An iJAM application form and a powerpoint presentation for the review panel.