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SUCCESS CASE
How an EdTech Company Secured S$50K+ for Australia Expansion
RIC helped a Singapore government-accredited EdTech company secure MRA support to hire an in-market Business Development executive for Australia expansion.
CATEGORY
Overseas Expansion
CLIENT TYPE
EdTech / workforce training platform
GRANT TYPE
Market Readiness Assistance Grant support
FUNDING SECURED
Over S$50,000
About the Client and Project
Client Profile
The client is a government-accredited Singapore EdTech company delivering training solutions for the retail and F&B industries. Its proprietary learning platform simplifies technical concepts into interactive, bite-sized lessons for frontline teams. The platform has onboarded over 1,500 retail locations and trained tens of thousands of frontline staff, serving multinational corporations across Asia-Pacific and receiving strong validation from Australian liquor and hospitality groups.
Project Nature
The project involved expanding into Australia through an in-market Business Development executive. The hire was intended to lead local market development, engage targeted corporate prospects, gather client feedback, build commercial relationships, and convert market interest into sales accounts. The project focused on practical business development execution rather than passive market exploration.
Funding Objective and Challenge
Funding Objective
The funding objective was to support the client’s Australia market entry through Enterprise Singapore’s Market Readiness Assistance Grant. The grant helped defray eligible costs for in-market business development hiring, reducing the cost of placing a dedicated commercial resource in Australia. The project aimed to accelerate local lead generation, customer acquisition, account closure, and overseas revenue pipeline development.
The Challenge
The client was a Singapore-headquartered EdTech company with a proprietary learning platform serving the retail and F&B industries across Asia-Pacific. Its platform had already onboarded over 1,500 retail locations and trained tens of thousands of frontline staff, with customer validation from major Australian liquor and hospitality groups. The challenge was to turn this traction into a structured Australia market entry project. The grant case needed to show how in-market business development hiring would translate into lead engagement, account closures, client feedback, and a credible overseas revenue pipeline.
How RIC Supported the Client
RIC provided end-to-end consulting and advisory support for the MRA project.
RIC’s support included:
• Identifying Australia market-entry priorities and defining business development KPIs.
• Aligning the proposed in-market BD hire to commercial outcomes.
• Developing the grant proposal, including market need, financial projections, and ROI analysis.
• Supporting talent identification for a seasoned Business Development executive with relevant industry experience.
• Structuring the cost plan to meet MRA eligibility requirements.
• Framing measurable KPIs, including lead engagement, account closures, and client feedback.
• Preparing post-award claim documentation, including payroll evidence, feedback records, proof of deliverables, and audit coordination.
RIC’s role was to help the client structure Australia expansion around a commercially useful BD hire, while managing the grant lifecycle from proposal to claim.
Outcome
FUNDING SECURED
Over S$50,000
The client secured over S$50,000 in MRA grant support, with total project value close to SG$100,000. The project enabled the client to hire and deploy an in-market Business Development executive in Australia. The BD effort engaged over 15 targeted corporate leads, closed multiple major sales accounts including Australian Venue Company and Rémy Cointreau, collected over 20 verified client feedback responses, and built a projected deal pipeline exceeding SG$300,000.
What This Means for Similar Companies
For Singapore companies entering Australia, hiring an in-market BD resource can be more effective than relying only on remote outreach or short business trips. This case shows that MRA support can fund practical market entry execution when the company can show a clear target market, defined KPIs, relevant hire profile, measurable lead activity, and claim-ready evidence. For SaaS, EdTech, and digital-first companies, the strongest overseas expansion cases connect local hiring directly to pipeline creation and account wins.
