In the last 20 years, Singapore’s annual R&D business expenditure has grown from 1.5 to 5.6 billion Singaporean dollars, and R&D accounts for a massive 32.1 billion Singaporean dollars in annual revenue generated..

Given Singapore’s superb public funding and support, global trade position and investment and networking opportunities, it is no surprise Singapore is considered one of the most innovative countries in the world, consistently ranking in the top 10 in many notable global innovation rankings.

The Singaporean government have begun their next research, innovation and enterprise budget phase for 2021-2025, where they have allocated 25 billion Singaporean dollars to supporting the growth of companies and R&D activities. The budget plan will nurture tech startups that can develop disruptive and novel solutions in four targeted key domains: (i) manufacturing, trade and connectivity, (ii) human health and potential, (iii) urban solutions and sustainability, (iv) smart nation and digital economy.

This government support can be accessed through many channels​. Below lists the key grants that support the R&D and commercialisation of new, innovative products/offerings.

Summary

Top Grants Available

EDG New Product Development Grant     ​Grant for SMEs to develop innovative offerings with end-goal of commercialisation. Does not support development of first product.

Startup SG Tech     ​Grant for start-ups to commercialise proprietary, disruptive technology offerings. POCs can be funded up to $250K, where POVs at up to S$500K.
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MAS FSTI POC     Grant for POC & early-stage development of innovative technologies in financial services, by (i) MAS-regulated FIs or (ii) solution providers working them. Funding can be up to 70% of qualifying costs, capped at S$400K.

International Co-innovation Grants     Grants that support projects that catalyse cross-border collaboration on technology development and co-innovation. SG applicant companies have to work with an international counterpart to co-innovate solutions, test-bed them and scale up in the region together. Grant support levels and quantum caps vary from program to program.

AI Research Grants     Grant that supports AI research of disruptive innovation in pre-defined themes.

5G Grant     Grant that supports adopters and solution providers to commercialise (i.e deploy in live environment) 5G solutions. IMDA will support up to 70% of qualifying costs.

Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund     Grant that supports R&D and product development of innovative maritime technologies. It is open to maritime technology developers, marine and port equipment makers and maritime companies with in-house R&D / Product Development outfit in Singapore.

Agri-food Cluster Transformation Fund - Innovation & Test-bedding     Grant that supports the prototyping, development & test-bedding of farming technology & systems.

Urban Sustainability R&D Grants     A suite of grants by various government agencies that support the development of innovative urban sustainability & construction solutions

A*STAR Grant Calls    A list of active grant calls that support the costs of developing innovative solutions in various industry/specialisations. Some grants are only open to R&D organisations (Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), public sector agencies, not-for-profit organisations and research laboratories).

Typical Supportable Costs

Basic Manpower   
Basic salaries plus employee's CPF contribution, excluding: Employer's CPF contribution, annual wage supplements, bonuses, allowances (fixed and variable) and overtime. The salaries of founders and direct owners of the applicant company are usually excluded.

Professional Services   
Includes consultancy, sub-contracting, prototyping costs by third-party locally-based companies/vendors.
Consultancy may relate to (i) assessment of market viability, (ii) evaluation of potential demand and user understanding, (iii) development of product roadmap and future functionalities, (iv) demonstration of market validation, (v) review of IP considerations

3rd Party Equipment or Software Costs   
Includes purchase price and costs related to commissioning and operation (e.g. delivery, installation, handling). Only project-related technical software costs are supported.

IP Rights 
Includes licensing and technology acquisition costs from non-related parties. May also include costs of filing for IP.

Others
Includes project-related training by external parties, patent-related costs, and rental of specialised equipment or facilities.

Support Level

50 - 80% of all qualifying costs     Please refer to the details under each specific grant by clicking on the hyperlink of the grant titles above.

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Important Things To Note

Typical Non-Supportable Costs 

Lower Support for Non-SMEs   
  • Set-up costs that are essential to starting a business
  • Cost of equipment and gadgets, such as copiers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones
  • Equipment and software costs that are supported under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)
  • Non-SMEs may get a lower support % than SMEs
  • Definition of SME: Group revenue of up to S$100 million or maximum employment of 200 employees​

No Retrospecive Funding​

Timeline of Whole Process​
  • The grants typically support projects that are new, have not commenced and not generating any revenue at the point of grant application.
  • The duration from Application Submission to Securing an Offer Letter ranges from 4 - 12 weeks
  • After your project ends, expect the duration from Claims Submission to Disbursement of Funds to be between 6 - 12 weeks​

FAQ

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Next Steps
Find out how our grant consultants can help your company secure R&D grants here.