Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant

The Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant is a program offered by International Enterprise Singapore to local companies who wish to expand their business globally. The grant extends government funds to companies that incur costs on qualifying activities when they venture overseas.

A company has to fulfill the following criteria to be eligible for the MRA grant:

1. The company must have its global headquarters in Singapore and
2. The annual turnover of the company must be less than S$100 million annually (according to the latest audit report for the company)

The MRA grant offers funding equal to 70% of the third-party costs that companies incur on qualifying activities when they venture overseas. The funding is capped at S$20,000 per company per fiscal year.

This includes:

1. Market assessment (market research, market feasibility, legal and tax advisory, etc)
2. Market entry (name search, Intellectual Property (IP) search, import-export licenses, etc)

This includes:

1. Business matching (identifying business partners, joint venture partners, agents and distributors, etc)

This includes:

1. Overseas marketing and PR activities (promotions, road shows, trade conferences, etc)
2. Online marketing activities (SEO optimisation, online campaigns, etc)
3. Participation in overseas trade fairs (space rental, booth design, etc)

IE Singapore provides additional guidelines on these qualifying activities. The entire list can be found here.

If a company’s overseas marketing set-up cost is $12,000, according to the MRA grant the company will be eligible for funding support of $8,400 (70% of $12,000). Thus, the company will have to pay only $3,600 ($12,000-$8,400) out of its own pocket the rest being covered by the grant.

IE Singapore outlines the following steps for applying for the MRA grant:

Request your third-party professional (who you choose to appoint for the qualifying activities) for a quotation.

Apply for the grant through Business Grants Portal or engage the services of a corporate service provider.

Wait for IE Singapore’s letter of offer.

Once you receive the letter of offer, complete the project within a period of 6 months and send your claim for disbursement to IE Singapore.

IE Singapore will not consider any retrospective applications. This implies that a company must:

1. Not make any initial payment or deposit;
2. Sign any legally binding agreement; or
3. Commence any project

before applying for the MRA grant.

You can find additional details of the application process and the MRA grant on IE Singapore’s website.

Venturing into a new market is a tough challenge for every business. The initial process of setting up and funding the expenses is risky and costly. This is where the government of Singapore extends its support to companies. If you are a local company in Singapore looking to expand overseas, the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant administered by IE Singapore is ideal for your business. Once you identify a potential market for your business, it is best to engage a corporate services provider who can help you understand the step-by-step application process for the MRA grant as well as the several other tax incentives applicable to your company.