FAQ: Market Readiness Assistance Grant

• Business entity that is registered/incorporated in Singapore;
• At least 30% local shareholding;
• Company’s Group Annual Sales Turnover of not more than S$100 million, or Company’s Group Employment Size of not more than 200 workers; and
• New to target overseas market (at country-level)

Companies that have previously benefited from MRA, but whose overseas sales in each of the preceding three calendar year for that target market did not exceed S$100,000, can continue to apply MRA during the enhancement period of 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.

Yes, as long as the new market criteria is met for each market. Other than grant eligibility, resource planning such as financing and manpower capacities should be considered in your business expansion into new markets.

The grant cap of S$100,000 is applicable to each unique company and its related entities. Entities that are assessed to have similar business registration details (nature of business, address, shareholder/directorship, etc.) will be treated as connected enterprises, and subjected to the same grant cap.

MRA only supports Singapore-registered business entities with key objective to generate overseas revenue/income. Applications from entities such as non-profit organisations, societies, religious entities, venture capital companies, investment holding companies or government subsidiaries, etc. will be rejected.

Companies are not allowed to apply for the MRA support after they have received grant approvals from Enterprise Singapore or other agencies for the same eligible expenses or events. E.g. Companies should not tap onto both MRA-OMP and WSG’s OMIP support for BD scope concurrently.

• Made a payment including initial deposit to the third-party consultant/vendor
• Signed the contractual agreement/purchase order with the third-party consultant/vendor
• Commenced the project with the third-party consultant/vendor

Applications for participation in overseas physical and virtual trade fairs are the only exception, as we recognise that a longer preparation time is required, and companies may need to secure the booth space in advance. Companies may make payment (including initial deposit) and/or sign the contractual agreement/rental agreement/purchase order with the show organiser/third-party vendor before application submission but are still required to submit the application before the trade fair’s official commencement date.

To ensure that there is no conflict of interest (COI), applicants should not have any relationship, connection, association, or dealings with their appointed third-party consultant/vendor, directly or indirectly via persons of authorities such as directors/shareholders.

The application will be rejected if there is COI detected between the applicant and their third-party consultant/vendor.

No, MRA supports eligible third-party costs for activities and services that companies do not have the in-house or internal capabilities to carry out.

• A company which does not meet the eligibility criteria
• A company holding a shell business registration or having its main business operations outside Singapore
• A company seeking support for the purpose of fundraising or increasing domestic sales
• A retrospective application

None of the above will be supported. We strongly encourage Singapore companies to tap onto LEAD supported tradeshows to reach global customers, get feedback on products and services and learn more about overseas markets. Please refer here for LEAD supported tradeshows.

1. There is unavailable booth space under the Singapore National Pavilion supported under LEAD
2. It can secure a better booth location compared to the Singapore National Pavilion
3. It prefers not to be part of the Singapore National Pavilion for various reasons
4. It prefers to exhibit at a different specialty hall within the same LEAD supported tradeshow

MRA support covers up to the standard booth size based on majority of applications. Based on overall trends, a booth space of 36 sqm is reasonable for companies across different industries (includes the display of machines, furniture, etc.)

No, but the applicant company’s name/brand (either represented by applicant company e.g. exclusive distributor or IP owned by applicant company) should be reflected clearly on the booth and exhibitor listing.

In addition, the overseas trade show should be an international trade fair for companies to showcase their products and services, which is opened primarily to trade visitors only. These fairs must have international exhibitors and visitors.

For company with a past approved OBD activity e.g. business match/IMBD/OMP and applying a new MRA application for the same market, they need to show fresh/new business leads in the new project i.e. they should not be the same/overlapping as the previous approved OBD project. The application would be subject to approval.

Business matching projects should primarily be conducted in-person, with customised one-to-one business meetings in the target market(s). The intent is to support companies in finding suitable partners and generate new leads for quicker access to overseas market(s).

Virtual business meetings are not supported as standalone activities, as they are considered initial touch-points. However, they can be scoped as an earlier phase in the project to reach out to potential leads, followed by customised in-person business meetings in the target market(s).

Yes. In such cases, please submit the Job Description of the BD staff (in place of the Employment/Appointment Letter) for application evaluation. The support is for BD staff only. Owners/shareholders or non-paid directors of the Applicant company are not supported under Overseas Marketing Presence.

Once the BD staff has been confirmed/hired, please update the application, or submit a Change Request in BGP with the Employment/Appointment Letter.

The BD staff must be hired by the applicant company unless it is due to the employment/labour regulations in the target overseas market.

For international IP applications, companies can submit one single application for multiple overseas markets under the Madrid Protocol , Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) System, Hague System, etc. Companies should indicate all the target markets covered under Madrid Protocol, PCT, Hague System etc. in the application form.

For direct national IP applications, companies should submit one MRA application for each overseas market. For more information, please refer to IPOS' website.

For IP MRA applications, the trademark/logo/device/patent etc. must be owned by the Grant Applicant. MRA support is only for fees to be filed in overseas markets and excludes support for filing in Singapore.

MRA can support the consultancy services as long as there are legitimate business relationships between your company and the manufacturing base - including but not limited to:

1. Manufacturing base as a wholly-owned entity under Singapore company, or;
2. Manufacturing base as a joint venture with overseas partner, or;
3. Manufacturing base operating as a contract manufacturer.

The consultant will advise the company on the relevant FTAs, and help assess the  benefits of leveraging on the FTAs, including those that Singapore is not a member of.

TCI is supported under the Market Entry activity, to encourage companies to take up TCI cover to protect themselves against buyer defaults in new overseas markets. Companies can approach a Singapore-registered TCI broker/insurer to structure and purchase the TCI policy.

Please note that the lists below are not exhaustive:

For all activities:

• Singapore-imposed Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Costs charged by other Singapore government agencies (except incorporation/registration of entity if the costs are mandatory as part of the process)
• Out of pocket expenses (e.g., airfare, accommodation, transport)
• Commissions or success fees
• Costs incurred for the purpose of fulfilling contractual obligations with clients
• Costs incurred for sourcing of investors, suppliers, service providers/ vendors, capital raising, selling of company’s shares

Overseas Marketing and PR activity

• Prototyping
• Food samples/products, promotional prizes/gifts, sponsorship fees (prize money)
• In-house manpower, maintenance, security deposit
• Stand-alone costs and/or collaterals that are not related to the marketing/PR campaign (e.g., video production for social media posts or production of corporate brochures that are not relevant to the campaign, advertisement placements (offline, online subscriptions etc.)
• Telemarketing
• Publicity costs to raise capital or investments
• Purchase of e.g. Equipment (e.g., tablet, printer, hard disk, computer)

Overseas Trade Fairs

• Logistics for overseas physical trade fairs, in-house manpower (e.g., promoters, maintenance, security deposit, sales commission, namecard, and success fees)
• Shared/split booths
• Purchase of etc. equipment, furniture, electrical appliances
• Insurance costs
• Sponsored or corporate gifts (e.g., notebooks, pens, lucky draw prizes), prize money
• Subscription to generic online databases

Business Matching and In-Market BD

• Office rental, manpower salary
• Subscription to generic databases or directories
• No concurrent OBD approved MRA fees in the same market (e.g. OMP and In market BD etc.)
• Post meeting follow-ups and/or negotiations

Overseas Marketing Presence

• Commission, bonus for the BD staff, additional allowances/ incentives/insurance on top of basic salary
• Subscription to generic databases or directories
• Incidental costs – staff’s overtime pay, transport allowances, airfare, meals, accommodation, insurance etc.
• Other office costs – equipment/furniture, fixture, utilities, internet/ telecommunication costs, etc.
• Rental of warehouse, factory space, residential space, hotel room/suite
• Deposit and any form of down payments
• BD staff not engaged on permanent basis by Grant Applicant e.g. contract, part-time, free lance etc.
• BD staff not in the target overseas market during the approved MRA duration e.g. working remotely in Singapore. This would be verified at claim stage such as residential agreement, long stay hotel agreement etc.

Market Entry

• Costs to operationalise the business (e.g., signboard license, bookkeeping services)
• Costs related to appointment of Power of Attorney
• Corporate secretariat services
• Paid up capital
• Annual registered office address/Lease contract
• Custodial director service
• Individual director tax registration
• Costs related to manpower issues such as employee recruitment/work permit (e.g. social security registration, insurance)
• Product certification/testing costs (note: product registration costs, such as FDA registration, that are required as part of obtaining import/export licenses can be supported)
• Product liability insurance
• Trademark/patent filings for Singapore
• Nominee director’s fees

FTA and Trade Compliance consultancy

• Assistance with Customs Authorities post-audit FTA consultancy
• Application for Advanced Ruling with Singapore Customs

If the company has yet to register for a Corppass Administrator account, please visit www.corppass.gov.sg. After successful registration, users need to be assigned the e-Service access to the BGP in order to submit their grant application.

You may contact the BGP helpdesk at +65 6708 7288 or bgp_helpdesk@enterprisesg.gov.sg.

Operating hours are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm (Mondays to Fridays).

You may call the Corppass Helpdesk at +65 6643 0577 or email them at support@corppass.gov.sg.

Operating hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (Mondays to Fridays) and from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm (Saturdays). Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.

You may choose to upload unaudited financial statements or certified management accounts, if audited statements are unavailable.

If the company is newly registered and a full year’s financial statements are not available, you may provide unaudited financial statements or certified management accounts for the year-to-date.

Any personnel assigned as a BGP user in the company and given a Preparer or Acceptor role by the company’s Corppass Administrator can edit and submit the grant application. Contact details of the new user should be updated on BGP.

Under the e-Service section on BGP, the company’s Corppass Administrator should assign an Acceptor role to the new CEO/MD. This enables him/her to accept the LOF.

If the grant has not been approved, the Corppass Administrator can update the LOF addressee in the grant application form.

If the grant has been approved and the LOF has been issued, no amendment to the addressee can be made.

The applicant company’s Corppass Admin would need to add in the “MTI – Business Grant Portal (BGP)” digital service:

1. Login at www.corppass.gov.sg
2. Go to "e-Services" > "Select Entity e-Services"
3. Type “bgp” in the search bar to the right (next to "filter")
4. Tick the box on the left of “BGP”, then press "Next"
   • If there is no checkbox to tick, you may skip ahead to Step 7 below.
5. Press "Next" and "Submit"
6. Press "Return to Homepage"
   • After adding BGP for the company, the Admin would then need to assign it to the relevant staff.
7. Go to "e-Services" > "Assign selected e-Services"
8. Tick the box next to the relevant staff’s name and press "Next".
9. Type “bgp” in the search bar to the right (next to "filter")
10. Tick the box on the left of “BGP”, then press "Next"
    • Select the “Acceptor” role.
    • “Authorization Effective Date” can be today
    • “Authorization Expiry Date” can be left blank
11. Press "Next" and "Submit"
    • If you are unsure of who your Admin is, you may use your SingPass to check on the identities of your entity’s Corppass Admins and Sub-Admins
12. Go to www.corppass.gov.sg
13. Click on "Services" > "Find Your Corppass Admin"
14. Login to SingPass
15. Enter the company’s UEN
16. Press "Search" (the respective admins’ names will be displayed)

For further enquiries regarding Corppass roles, please refer to the Corppass User Guide.

All submissions in the portal must be made by the Grant Applicant/Company through its authorised employees/staff (i.e. users). Submissions must not be made by vendors, service providers, or any other third party, on behalf of the Company.

The maximum support period for MRA is 12 months, and companies have a maximum of 3 months to submit its claims upon completion of the project. Companies with valid reasons may request for an extension from Enterprise Singapore via BGP before the project end date by submitting Change Request. The request will be subject to approval.

If payment has not been made and project has not commenced: Resubmit a new application on BGP for assessment and cancel the existing approved project.

If project is ongoing: Submit a change request on BGP under “Change in project costs” for assessment and minimally to upload a quote from the new vendor before the project end date. The change request will be subject to approval.

The Auditor’s Report allows for a smoother review of claims. The responsibility of the auditor is to verify and confirm the amounts shown on the Statement of Claim are in accordance with the provisions of the Letter of Offer. The Auditor’s Report and Statement of Claim will be issued upon completion of verification of Qualifying Cost(s). The guide on submission of claims can be found here.

Claims must reach Enterprise Singapore no later than 3 months from the end of the project qualifying period, failing which Enterprise Singapore reserves the right to refuse payment. Please note that completeness of submissions would help to ensure efficient processing of the claims.

As all payments should be incurred and paid for by applicant, during audit, auditors will verify supportable costs based on the principle that there is sufficient supporting documents to show that all payments had been duly made as required.

MRA accepts only a single and final claim. All qualifying costs will be based on the quotation submitted during application stage. The approved quantum is final, and additional claims are not allowed.

Step 1/4

• Acceptor login to BGP > Click on "Updates Required" tab
• Click on grant's Project Title/MRA Ref ID

Step 2/4

• Click on "Cancel Application"

Step 3/4

• Enter details in Remarks section
• Click on "Cancel Application"

Step 4/4

• Grant application has been withdrawn

For further enquiries, kindly contact us through the Enterprise Infoline.

If you are unsure which initiatives and programmes you should tap on, and would like to get in touch with business advisors from SME Centres for advice, please make an appointment here for a call or Skype chat. Walk-ins are allowed during operating hours, but SMEs are strongly encouraged to make an appointment to confirm the slot.

The operating hours are from 9am to 5:30pm (Monday to Friday).