An SME Can Have an Edge by Marketing Their Products Overseas Through the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant.
Any company that desires to market their services/products overseas can use the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant. It is to pay up to 70 percent of the eligible 3rd party costs. The costs cover activities like:
- Promotion for the overseas market
- Setting up an overseas market
- Identifying business partners
Objectives of the Scheme
Businesses can submit applications for certain specific activities for financial assistance. However, the activities are mainly for setting up the overseas market, promotion, and identifying the overseas business partners.
It is expected that the SMEs or small and medium-sized enterprises will get a boost in the international market. The MRA (Market Readiness Assistance) grant will help them take their business overseas.
Those SMEs who will be eligible for the grant can get the following support:
- A maximum of 70 percent of the eligible costs and capped at a twenty thousand per fiscal year per company, which covers:
- Restricted to 1 activity (for instance to participate in a trade fair or a market entry) for each application
- A maximum of 2 applications for each fiscal year starting from April 1 and ending on March 31 the next year
The support level of the MRA up to 70 percent is to be extended up to March 31, 2020.
Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) eligibility
Businesses have to fulfil the below-mentioned criteria:
- They anchor global headquarter in Singapore
- The group annual turnover should not be more than 100 million USD p.a. on the basis of the latest audit report. Alternatively, the group should not employ more than two hundred employees
MRA Pre-requisites
The authorities should accept no retrospective application for the purpose of the MRA grant. Any application is “retrospective” only when any of the events below take place prior to the date of application:
- They commence the project with a 3rd party consultant
- The first payment has been made to a 3rd party consultant
- The business signed a letter of engagement with a 3rd party consultant
Another pre-requisite is that a company should submit their application, not before 6 months of the start date of their project. If a business files an application for the MRA grant after March 10, it is an application for the new financial year. The Business Grant Portal can use for making an application for Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant.
MRA Claims
They sent all claims with appropriate supporting documents within 90 days from the end date of the project via the Business Grants Portal.
An independently recruited auditor should verify all the expenses made by a company for all the claims made by it. Companies have the right to get 70 percent of the audit fee they pay to the auditors of Enterprise Singapore as an audit grant. The disbursement of all the claims will do only through the process of reimbursement.
