MRA Grants in Singapore – What Are They & How Can They Benefit My Business?
Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grants refer to funds given to Singaporean companies to help them break into international markets with their products or services. MRA grants in Singapore can help in a variety of ways. Be it business development or investing in marketing events, MRA can help in adapting your organisation to international markets. This scheme can provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) business opportunities on a global scale at a much lower cost, allowing startups a level of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in testing foreign markets.
At CZ Consultancy, we have a wealth of experience in procuring different government grants such as MRA grants for local SMEs and startup companies. Here’s a brief breakdown of the benefits of MRA and how one might go about applying for it.
You might also consider our business consultation services to optimize your business in other ways such as overseas venture and bookkeeping.
Expanding or starting your business with MRA Grants
As mentioned, overseas market development and promotion are key selling points to obtaining an MRA grant for your business. Expanding to varied markets can exponentially grow your organisation in many ways. However, it can be said that a huge deterrence to competing in international markets would be the sheer sum of money needed to be invested in the business. Singapore MRA reduces that initial cost, allowing you to further develop or start your organisation in a different area, such as human resources.
What does ESG’s MRA Grant provide?
The MRA grant is issued by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and grants companies up to 70% of eligible costs per business per market. This sum is capped at S$100,000 and consists of 3 numbers. Overseas market promotion at S$20,000, overseas business development at S$50,000, and, overseas market set-up at S$30,000. ESG MRA support significantly reduces overseas capital costs for a business and with the right market analysis can help with product visibility for clients, boosting revenue down the line.
The enhanced financial support provided by Singapore’s MRA grant scheme allows businesses a wider coverage of activities. This is especially useful for SMEs who normally would be intimidated by expanding overseas. SMEs would be able to internationalise, showing off their local Singaporean products or services to foreign clients, a venture that may provide them with alternative investors and funding that want to bring their product into a different market.
How to apply for ESG’s MRA Grant?
However, ESG MRA would in certain cases cause companies to tweak their market plan and approach, much like applying for a Singapore business grant. ESG has a list of criteria that would need to be followed to apply. This list consists of but is not limited to
- The business entity is registered locally
- Applicant or business not exceeding S$100,000 in overseas sales in the 3 preceding years
- The company’s annual sales turnover not exceeding S$100 million
- Staff size not being above 200
These business characteristics would need to be achieved before an application can be made. This is in addition to any further amendments that may be requested during the application process by ESG.
A business entity is allowed to make multiple MRA grant applications for different markets, however, only one activity can be made in a single overseas market, meaning that a business would be allowed to make several MRA requests for their product, but only as long as those requests are made for multiple countries. This affords organisations to determine their own entry pace in a foreign market. Claim activity is supported for a maximum of 12 months and the commencement and completion dates must follow the period stipulated to ESG during the application process.
Details provided by the ESG that must be considered when making the application that would derail the grant refer to any of the criteria provided above, as well as, the entity holding a shell business registration outside of Singapore, the company being a non-profit organisation and, the company needing support in relation to fundraising or domestic sales.
Required documents for ESG’s MRA Grant
Documentation needed during the proposal to the ESG includes the following:
- Testimonials and credentials about the project team and business
- Past track records of completed projects
- Breakdown of the scope of services
- Detailed costs list that would be needed to be followed if the application goes through
- Expected deliverables of the project.
ESG’s MRA Grant process
A rough run-through of the application and project commencement process will look something like this:
- Enlisting the help of a third-party grant consultancy service such as CZ Consultancy
- Signing an engagement letter with the consultancy service
- Commencement of the project with the service
Applications must be filed a maximum of 6 months before the project start date. You would need to send in the documentation listed above and wait between 8 to 12 weeks for ESG to assess your documents and judge your proposal. All claims and documents have to be sent via the Business Grants Portal. During this time, ESG may call for amendments to be made to your documents and overall project, which have to be made before they accept the proposal.
After accepting the proposal, an external auditor would be sent to oversee the project as it happens. The project will have to be completed in a maximum of 1 year, after which the auditor will report back to the ESG on whether all the criteria established by the ESG have been conformed to. If so, the MRA claims will be sent to the business’ bank account. All claims must be sent through the Business Grants Portal alongside supporting documents within 3 months of the project’s end date.
Apply for an ESG MRA Grant with CZ Consultancy
While this process of applying for an ESG MRA grant in Singapore seems tedious to the average business owner, we guarantee a plethora of benefits to Singaporean SMEs and startup companies. We highly recommend enlisting the services of a third-party consultancy experienced in business grants consultancy like CZ Consultancy to ease your workload in applying for MRA grants.
Our years of experience in the industry and our client testimonials speak volumes about how we would be able to assist you during this period. Our help extends from submitting documents for assessment by the ESG, and all through the completion of your project and as ESG is reimbursing you for claims during the project. Our experience in the field will assist you in any auditing during the course of the project, as well as any amendments needed by ESG during the application submission at the start of the project. We also offer other business consultancy services such as corporate secretary services and immigration services.
Find out more about us and our services offered here and call us now for a consultancy on your future projects and let us know how we can help you in applying for your ESG MRA grant in Singapore.