With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, countries across the world were forced to devise mechanisms to keep the economy afloat. To help the economy, the Singaporean government released a means to support businesses – the Productivity Solutions Grant.
The website eCommerce development PSG Grant is a way to support small and medium sized enterprises that were very tough to hit during the pandemic. The PSG Grant offers up to 70 per cent funding for SMEs to develop an eCommerce platform. Therefore, the PSG Grant is a revolutionary grant that can help local SMEs improve their operations by utilising IT services and equipment. The PSG Grant was launched by the Singapore government in April 2018 and served many industries such as retail, logistics, food, construction etc.
However, it is noteworthy to remember that the PSG Grant is available only for PSG-approved vendors that do eCommerce website designing and not for freelance web developers. It must be an eCommerce design agency that’s incorporated locally. So, now that we have touched upon the basics of PSG let us get into the nitty-gritty of the grant in detail.
Website eCommerce development PSG Grant eligibility criteria
The website eCommerce development PSG grant is available to all types of businesses operating in Singapore who want to develop an eCommerce platform. However, an enterprise must meet specific criteria to apply for the same.
- The company applying for the PSG grant should have registration and operation in Singapore for at least six months.
- The enterprise should also purchase, lease, or have a subscription for the IT solutions or consultancy services.
- For consultancy solutions, enterprises must have a minimum of three employees at the point of application.
- A minimum of 30 percent of local shareholding/
- The company’s annual sales turnover should not exceed S$ 100 million.
- The enterprise’s Group Employment Size should not be more than 200 workers.
- The enterprise’s purchases, leases, and IT solutions or equipment subscriptions should be located and used in Singapore only.
- The enterprise should not have any payment or contract with a supplier, vendor, or third party regarding IT solutions’ purchase, lease, and subscription.
Sectors covered by the eCommerce PSG Grant for eCommerce designing
Some of the sectors that can use the PSG grant to build their eCommerce platform include:
- IT Solutions
- Equipment Services
- Consultancy Services
- Logistics
- Retail
- Customer Relationship Management and much more
Applying for the PSG Grant to develop an eCommerce platform
Applying for the PSG grant is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is follow the steps given below:
- To access the Business Grants Portal, use CorpPass as your login.
- Visit the ‘My Grants’ section and choose the ‘Get New Grant’ option. After that, select the sector that best describes your business.
- Select ‘Upgrade key business areas’ and then choose ‘pre-scoped Productivity Solutions.’
- Check the eligibility criteria and choose ‘yes if they are met.
- Fill in the details of the primary contact person and details for the Letter of Offer addressee.
- Click ‘Equipment’ or ‘IT solution,’ whichever best suits our requirement.
- Under the ‘Proposal’ section, you can put in the vendor details and solution and upload the quotation from the vendor.
- Complete the cost details.
- Check the declaration section and submit your application after reviewing it carefully.
Why an eCommerce platform can help streamline your business
An eCommerce platform can help to take your business to another level. Walmart missed out on the eCommerce boom and billions of dollars in sales because they got into eCommerce late. Amazon took that market share and now Amazon has a larger market cap than Walmart and has started growing into Walmart’s territory by acquiring Whole Foods.
An eCommerce platform can help you communicate all in stock and available products to your customers. Some customers now prefer to check for a product’s availability on a shop’s website and Amazon before deciding whether it’s worth a trip down to the store. A lot of eCommerce platforms also have a streamlined and optimised distribution network which allows them to deliver products within 24 or 48 hours.
Finally, eCommerce has very low overheads. A traditional store will mean high rental costs to the landlord and very few small business owners may be able to afford this. An online store just means less than $100 for website hosting and the domain name. And you may have to fork out a few thousand dollars for an eCommerce developer if you don’t have the technical expertise but this is still far less than you would pay for a physical location. There is also no upside to the amount of traffic that you can receive and things are very scalable once you have your website up and running.
Many companies that don’t even sell products like music schools have now started using eCommerce functionalities for a booking system to save time on administrative tasks too. Find out how you can take advantage of the eCommerce revolution!
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
