Read this first

Grant schemes change: support levels, qualifying cost definitions, approved-vendor lists and time-limited enhancements all move. Nothing here is an eligibility determination or a guarantee of funding, and no figure in this guide should be planned around without confirming it at the source.

What this guide gives you is orientation — which schemes typically apply to an AI or automation project, what the conditions generally look like, how to prepare, and the five assumptions that most often cost businesses money.

The two schemes that usually apply

Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)

For adopting pre-approved IT solutions and equipment. Support has commonly been set at up to 50% of qualifying costs with a cap per applicant. The defining feature is pre-approval: both the solution and the vendor must appear on the official list. An excellent solution that is not listed is not eligible under this scheme, full stop.

Best fit: you are buying a defined, packaged solution that already appears on the approved list.

Enterprise Development Grant (EDG)

For projects that build business capability — commonly grouped under core capabilities, innovation and productivity, and market access. Support for eligible SMEs has commonly been up to 50% of qualifying project costs, with higher levels for certain categories and periods. There is no pre-approved list; each project is assessed on its merits.

Best fit: a bespoke automation or capability project scoped specifically for your operation.

Which route applies is determined by the shape of your project, not by preference.

The conditions that disqualify people

Check these before you invest any effort in an application.

Local shareholding. Schemes of this type generally require a minimum level of local equity — commonly at least 30% held directly or indirectly by Singapore citizens or permanent residents. This is the most common structural disqualifier, and it catches foreign-owned Singapore subsidiaries in particular. Check your cap table first.

Registered and operating in Singapore. The entity must be registered here and genuinely operating here, with the solution deployed for use in Singapore.

Size thresholds, measured at group level. SME definitions typically involve limits on annual turnover or headcount assessed across the whole group. A small local entity inside a large international group frequently fails this test.

Financial readiness. The applicant is generally expected to be financially able to start and complete the project. This is assessed, not assumed.

No prior commitment. Costs committed or incurred before approval are generally not claimable. Signing the contract or paying a deposit before you have approval is the single most expensive mistake in this area.

Apply before you commit. Costs already committed are generally not claimable, and no amount of good faith recovers them.

What is usually fundable

Broadly — and subject to the published criteria:

Typically within scope: third-party implementation and consultancy costs tied to the project, qualifying software costs for a defined period, and equipment or systems the project requires.

Typically outside scope: your own staff's time, general operating expenses, anything committed before approval, and open-ended retainers with no defined deliverables.

The practical implication is that projects with hard edges present well. "Automate expense capture and coding for our Singapore entity, delivered in twelve weeks, with these five deliverables and this measured outcome" reads as fundable. "Adopt AI across the business" does not.

Preparing an application that stands up

The assessor is answering one question: is this a real project that will produce a real productivity improvement, and can this business execute it? Give them the evidence directly.

1. A specific process, named and bounded. Not a department, not an ambition. One process.

2. A measured baseline. What it costs today — hours, error rates, misses, lost revenue. Two weeks of honest measurement produces this.

3. A target outcome. What improves, by how much, measured how, by when.

4. A defined scope of work. Deliverables, milestones, timeline, acceptance criteria.

5. Itemised quotations from the implementing vendor, matched line by line to the scope.

6. Evidence of execution capability. Who owns it internally, what their time commitment is, and how the system will be maintained after go-live.

That list is nearly identical to the discipline of running a good automation project. That is not coincidental — the application is largely a description of a properly scoped project, which is why businesses that scope well also apply well.

Five assumptions that cost money

"We'll apply once we've started." Generally fatal to the claim. Approval comes first.

"Any AI vendor qualifies." Under PSG, the solution and vendor must be pre-approved. Under EDG, the project must meet assessment criteria. Neither is automatic.

"The grant covers it." Co-funding means you fund the remainder, and claims are generally reimbursed after the fact. Plan cash flow for the full amount.

"We're based here, so we're eligible." Shareholding, group-level size and financial-readiness tests all apply independently of your office address.

"It'll be approved quickly." Assessment takes time — commonly weeks, longer for larger projects. Build it into the timeline rather than discovering it.

The sequence to follow

Scope the project properly. One process, baseline, target, deliverables, timeline. Required regardless of funding.

Check the structural disqualifiers. Shareholding, group size, entity status. Ten minutes.

Identify the route. Pre-approved solution → PSG. Bespoke project → EDG.

Obtain itemised quotations matched to the scope of work.

Apply through the official government business grants portal, using your corporate digital identity credentials.

Wait for approval. Then commit, execute, document against milestones, and claim.

Where to verify

Go to the administering agency's own pages and the official government business grants portal. They carry the current support levels, eligibility criteria, qualifying cost definitions and approved-solution lists. Anything you read elsewhere — including this guide — is orientation, and orientation goes out of date.

An implementation partner can help you scope the project, prepare the documentation and assemble the quotations. What no honest partner will do is promise you an outcome.

The summary

If your business is Singapore-registered, majority locally held, and within the group-level size thresholds, co-funding of a well-scoped digitalisation project is a realistic possibility worth investigating before you fund the work entirely from cash flow.

Check the structural disqualifiers first — they take ten minutes and they decide everything. Scope the project properly, because that work serves you whether or not funding follows. And apply before you commit, because that is the mistake you cannot undo.

Start with a free AI Readiness Assessment

Normally valued at SGD 1,500, currently free. You receive an opportunity report, a prioritised roadmap and honest ROI estimates for your own processes — with no obligation. Book yours at aigentify.tech/assessment.

AIgentify — Singapore-based AI implementation specialists. We design, build and support AI agents, workflow automations and intelligent business applications with measurable ROI. Live in weeks, not months. Your data stays yours.

This article is general information, not advice. Grant schemes, platform rules and regulatory requirements change; confirm current details with the relevant authority or provider before relying on them. Any figures shown are illustrative unless a source is stated.