Question :

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) what is the rollout schedule for the business grant portal for SMEs; (b) what are the types of schemes that will be put on the portal; and (c) whether key schemes run by the Ministry of Manpower can be inserted in the first few stage of the rollout.

Written reply :

1. The Business Grants Portal (BGP) benefits companies, including SMEs, by simplifying grant application forms, and reducing the need for companies to approach multiple agencies when applying for business grants.
2. BGP was launched in January 2017, and companies can now apply for 6 business grants administered by 5 different government agencies. These include SPRING Singapore’s Capability Development Grant (CDG), and IE Singapore’s Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant. The BGP has generally been well received by businesses, with more than 7,000 grant applications from over 5,000 companies submitted through the portal.
3. We will continue to find ways to allow more companies to benefit from the streamlined grant application process offered by the BGP. As part of the review for future rollouts, MTI’s Grant Management Office is working with government agencies, such as the Ministry of Manpower, to explore what other grants can be added to the BGP, especially those with high application volume.