SINGAPORE: The grant support for first-time start-up entrepreneurs will be raised to S$50,000, as part of enhancements to a support programme aimed at spurring more new innovative start-ups in Singapore.
The Startup SG Founder programme will also have a three-month venture building programme to groom aspiring entrepreneurs, said Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Thursday (Aug 20).
Advertisement Advertisement These details come after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his ministerial statement on Monday that up to S$150 million will be pumped into the Startup SG Founder programme, as part of efforts to continue to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in Singapore.
[h=3]READ: About 330 offered jobs with start-ups under SGUnited package between April and June[/h]Introduced in 2017, the programme provides first-time founders with mentorship support and start-up capital grant through accredited mentor partners.
Currently, it provides a start-up capital grant of S$30,000 while requiring start-ups to co-match funds of S$10,000 to the grant.
Advertisement Advertisement This start-up capital grant will be raised to S$50,000 to help “extend the runway" for start-ups to develop their business ideas at a time when generating revenue has become "more challenging", ESG said.
The matching amount will remain at S$10,000.
Start-ups must also now be formed with minimally three Singaporeans and/or permanent residents, inclusive of founders. At least two of these must be starting a business for the first time.
On the other hand, the new three-month venture building programme will see appointed venture builders helping new entrepreneurs in areas such as sourcing for innovation, commercialising ideas into scalable businesses and finding capital.
This new three-month initiative will be open to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, during which each participant will receive a monthly stipend of S$1,500.
Venture builders will be selected based on their track record in generating strong ventures, ESG said.
As a start, the five autonomous universities - Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and Singapore University of Social Sciences - will come on board as partners to provide the venture building programme.
These universities will launch their call for applications by end-August.
Meanwhile, start-ups founder will continue to receive mentorship from the 50 accredited mentor partners appointed by ESG under the Startup SG Founder programme.
These accredited mentor partners help to identify eligible start-ups based on the uniqueness of their business concepts, feasibility of business models, strength of their management teams and their potential market value.
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