If you are planning on beginning your own start-up business in Singapore or looking to refresh your business to better fit the market, you would have probably heard of government grants such as the Enterprise Development Grant. If you’ve been looking at the marketing and branding side of things, then the Strategic Brand and Marketing Development strand of the grant would have spoken to you and raised your interest.
But, what can you do with this grant, how much does it cover for a potential branding and marketing project, and what are the items that are claimable under this grant scheme? We’ll help you sort it out.
I Concept Singapore, a creative design agency have, over the years, helping clients with developing their branding and attaining the Grant under the Core Capabilities scope, for Strategic Brand and Marketing Development. If you’re looking to do up your branding and identity, or retweak your brand outlook to seek a wider audience, check out this guide that we’ve compiled here. We hope to support and enable you, our clients, to achieve the most out of this grant while offering a project scope that best taps on its full coverage.
What is EDG and how much funding can I get?
As mentioned, EDG is short for the Enterprise Development Grant, announced by the government back in 2018, mainly for local SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) to help them grow and transform their business in the wider competitive market. Enterprise Singapore is the body in charge of giving the final green light to all EDG grants.
As of current, projects tapping on the grant can get up to 50% funding, depending on the industry and subject to approval. Companies’ grant applications will be assessed based on their group revenue and group employment size to determine the payouts, on top of other factors.
Who can apply for the EDG?
Companies keen to apply for the EDG should meet the following criteria:
- Be registered and operating in Singapore;
- Have a minimum of 30% local shareholding;
- Be in a financially viable position to start and complete the project.
Business companies should ideally have 2-3 years of operations at the time of application, and a healthy revenue stream, to be eligible for the EDG. Those with at least 2-3 years of audited financial statements stand a higher chance of being awarded the grant.
Based on our experiences, typically, eligible companies should have no more than 200 employees. An ideal minimum headcount would be five and above.
What is the project scope and timeline like?
At Branding Agency Singapore I Concept, we provide the development of outward-facing brand identity, which is supported under the EDG Strategic Brand and Marketing Development.
This will include a full brand audit, the development of an effective brand strategy, the crafting of brand identity elements, through to the design of your brand communication materials.
Do note, however, that the following are not supported under the Grant:
- Production of corporate and/or marketing collaterals, such as brochures, videos, website development, photography, stock pictures, and copywriting;
- Implementation of marketing or PR campaigns, including retainer fees of consultants, advertising and media buys, engagement of social media influencers, management of websites/social media platforms, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
A typical brand and marketing project will take approximately three to six months to complete, depending on the scope of your project, as well as the deliverables involved.
How will I Concept Singapore help with the EDG application process?
As a branding agency Singapore, I Concept will guide and help prepare the following together with the applicant (business):
- Project budget and quotation.
- Project proposal;
- Project report(s);
The applicant company will have to prepare the supporting documentation and information, including the financial statements from the previous 2-3 financial years, and a forecast of the company’s future revenue, headcount, and wages.
I Concept Singapore will be able to walk you through and guide you every step of the way.
Based on our experience, the results of an application will be made known after approximately 2-4 months. If successful, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) will send the company a Letter of Offer, which you will need to accept to officially start the project.
You’ll be glad to learn that ESG may allow you to make an advance payment claim of up to 20% of the total grant amount, subject to approval.
All you need to know about the completion of project and funding claims
Most projects undertaken by companies should be completed within 12-18 months, upon successful grant application. Applicant companies are advised to keep the project timeline to a reasonable duration, so as to ensure the outcomes remain relevant in a rapidly changing economic environment.
Once all the brand identity and branding touchpoints are completed and ready for rollout, you may begin the claim process. Refer to your Letter of Offer and ensure that you are claiming within 6 months of the indicated project deadline. Thereafter, prepare all the required documents, including project report, documentation of project deliverables and project invoice, which I Concept Singapore will assist with. Then, you can log in to the Enterprise Singapore grant portal to submit your claim, before waiting 1-2 months (typically) for the grant to be disbursed.
Other things you need to know about the EDG grant
Wondering how many EDG Grants your business can apply for? In theory, there are no restrictions on how many EDG grants you may apply for. Currently, Enterprise Singapore allows you to apply and work on more than one EDG project at any given time. However, you can only apply for an EDG grant in a specified area once. That means, if you are awarded an EDG grant for Branding and Marketing once, you are no longer eligible for another EDG grant under the same category. You are, however, still able to apply for EDG grants in other areas.
Looking at other grants in the same vein? The Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant are separate schemes with different intentions. The former support companies looking to adopt specific productivity solutions or equipment, while the MRA supports companies who wish to take their first step into overseas markets. Since the areas of support have been pre-specified, the purpose of the PSG and MRA is primarily to facilitate ease of adoption.
(You’ll be glad to learn that creative design agency I Concept Singapore is a Pre-Approved@SMEs GoDigital vendor, also ready to help your business with eCommerce website development, to reach out to a broader base audience.)
The Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) is a tool to support companies’ growth and transformation needs. Companies would need to submit individual project proposals with details on their business plans and project outcomes for evaluation.
Disclaimer: The Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) is administered by Enterprise Singapore. The general information provided in this article is subject to changes. Additional information has been included based on I Concept Singapore’s experience in assisting and helping our clients with applying for and attaining their grants. For the most up-to-date list of Frequently Asked Questions, kindly refer to the Enterprise Singapore website.
