The A-Z of Singapore startup grants and schemes

Photo credit: Nicolas Lannuzel

Singapore is perhaps the most proactive government in the world when it comes to developing the tech industry: it pumps tons of money into grants and initiatives to create its own version of Silicon Valley.

Of course, it helps that the government is unencumbered by electoral politics, which means it can be far-sighted – precisely what you need to build a startup ecosystem. It also helps that the state can take its pick of really smart people thanks to scholarship programs.

But the extent of government help causes another problem. So many initiatives exist out there that newcomers to the scene might get confused. It doesn’t help that many of these programs have acronyms for names. So to address that, here’s a list of government programs for startups and small businesses, as well as a description of what they entail. A lot of these schemes favor companies with some or majority Singaporean ownership, but foreigners are not excluded.

ACE Startups Grant

The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a formerly government-led organization that promotes entrepreneurship in Singapore. While the keys to ACE were turned over to the private sector, the program will still be government-funded for the foreseeable future. One of its main programs is a startup grant which gives up to S$50,000 (US$35,400) to entrepreneurs, matched by their own funds.

There’re quite a lot of requirements attached to this though. While it’s not restricted to only tech startups, you’d need to be a first-time entrepreneur to apply, which means you must not have registered a business entity in Singapore before.

Accreditation@IDA

This initiative by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) aims to help startups secure contracts with bigger companies that would typically shun them due to the perceived unreliability of their products. After all, failure rates for startups are high. Companies that have been certified by this scheme include Kai Square, V-Key, and Tagit. There’s been a bit of a debate about whether startups should apply for this scheme due to the tedious process, but it’s clear that this is applicable for more mature tech companies.

Industry track for A*STAR scholars

A*STAR is a government research agency that oversees 18 R&D entities. While not a startup scheme per se, its scholars can provide a crucial source of talent for startups. After completing a two year stint at the A*STAR Research Institute, scholars can pick from a number of tracks, one of which is to work for a private sector company.

Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF)

ESVF is a program run by the National Research Foundation (NRF). It partners with venture capital firms to invest in startups by matching them on a one-to-one basis. The scheme targets startups in the series A stage and above. About S$100 million (US$70 million) has been pumped into startups so far, and the government announced it plans to invest another S$28 million into this.

IDM Jump-start and Mentor (i.JAM)

I.JAM is an initiative started by the Media Development Authority. It is a grant scheme that doles out government money to startups through government-appointed private sector incubators. The funds are given out typically in two tranches. First is a small round of up to S$50,000 (US$38,000). If all criteria are met, startups can potentially receive another S$200,000, half of which must be matched by a third-party.

The i.JAM scheme, however, has been subjected to rigorous and heated debate about its effectiveness in boosting the startup ecosystem. But some of the incubators in the program, like NUS Enterprise, Tri5 Ventures, and Crystal Horse Investments, are the real deal.

See: How tech startups benefited from iJAM

JTC LaunchPad @ one-north

MOOC Pilot for Data Sciences & Analytics Training

Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC)

Sector Specific Accelerator (SSA) program

Smart Nation

SPRING SEEDS

Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme (TECS)

Technology Incubation Scheme (TIS)

Business Improvement Fund

Workforce Development Authority (WDA) subsidies