Ministry of Finance Make it easier for SMEs to apply for business grants
As a small business owner in Singapore, I am thankful for the many grants available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that encourage us to innovate and digitalise our business, allowing us to transform and stay relevant in the face of increasing competition.

Surveys by the Singapore Business Federation, however, have revealed that SMEs face a lot of uncertainty over the duration of existing government support and grants, and showed that while awareness of grants is high, uptake is not.

I would like to share some problems, which I know other business owners face, and which if resolved, could help ensure that the intent and outcome of these policies are successfully delivered.

First, the qualifying criteria for the grants are too broad and vague.

Repeated requests for clarification were met with responses that were almost the same as information provided on the agencies' websites, which, if it were clear to begin with, would not need any clarification.

This experience was similar across many agencies, except for the Infocomm Media Development Authority, which was the only one where someone explained to me what to expect and what to do.

Second, I came across multiple errors on the Business Grants Portal, such as a button that was not working.

The poor user experience just seems like such an irony - to ask SMEs to digitalise to improve on productivity, when the government agency portal has caused so much friction and time lost in trying to navigate the process.

The difficult process is probably why many SME owners resorted to turning to consultants and vendors to understand the grants and processes, but these third parties' motivations might not be aligned with the SME's objective.

Lastly, during the claim, an officer I dealt with did not seem to understand the difference between a quotation, purchase order, invoice and receipt, and that different vendors have different practices.

I understand taxpayers' monies are involved and agencies need to be careful with approving these grants.

However, all the problems I have encountered suggest it is the delivery that is the issue, not the intent.

I have had one grant that was approved only after six months, and another grant, which I understood to have a 12-month claim period, that was approved with only one month given to make a claim.

These subsidies incentivise SMEs to invest in their future, but the friction at each step of the process will discourage many SMEs from taking a closer look at these grants.

Daniel Tan Jia Hao

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-make-it-easier-for-smes-to-apply-for-business-grants

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