MRA Grant Consultants: What They Can Do, and What They Cannot
Before you engage anyone, understand the rules. Enterprise Singapore does not accredit MRA consultants and it does not permit third parties to submit or manage your grant. Here is what good advice actually looks like — and how Firefish works.
First, the Rules Enterprise Singapore Actually Sets
There is no "approved consultant" list
Enterprise Singapore does not accredit, appoint or approve MRA Grant consultants and it does not maintain a pre-approved vendor list for the MRA. Any firm advertising itself as an "ESG-approved MRA consultant" is describing a status that does not exist. Treat that as a red flag.
Your company must submit, not your consultant
Enterprise Singapore requires all Business Grants Portal submissions to be made by the grant applicant through its own authorised employees. Vendors, service providers, corporate secretaries and other third parties must not submit or manage the grant on your behalf. A consultant advises and prepares; you submit.
Your project vendor must be unrelated to you
You must have no relationship, connection, association or dealings — direct or indirect — with the third-party vendor delivering your project. Applications with a detected conflict of interest are rejected. And the scope must be work your company cannot deliver in-house.
Where Advice Genuinely Earns Its Keep
Scoping the right pillar
Your pillar determines your cap, your minimum project duration and the deliverables you will be audited against. Getting this wrong at the start is expensive to unwind — and the approved grant amount is final once issued.
Sequencing the timeline
Retrospective applications are rejected outright. A deposit paid, a purchase order signed, a job contract issued, or preliminary work started before submission all void the application. Sequencing is the highest-stakes, lowest-cost thing to get right.
Writing claimable deliverables
Enterprise Singapore assesses whether your project was completed satisfactorily against the deliverables in your Letter of Offer. Non-compliance means pro-rated or rejected claims. Deliverables should be written at application stage with the claim audit already in mind.
Meet Firefish
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Government Grant Experience
We have worked with Singapore government grant schemes spanning the Capability Development Grant through to the Enterprise Development Grant and the MRA.
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End-to-End Support
From scoping and pillar selection through to claim documentation. You make the Business Grants Portal submission; we make sure it is ready.
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Branding Expertise
Because branding is our core business, we help you localise your brand while keeping it consistent across target markets.
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Honest Scoping
If your project does not fit the grant, we will tell you before you spend money on it — and point you to the scheme that does fit, if there is one.
What We Do for You
Eligibility Assessment
We review your company against the criteria and your project against the pillars — before you commit to a vendor.
Application Preparation
We help you draft the proposal, deliverables and KPIs and structure the vendor quotation. Your authorised Corppass user submits it.
Documentation Support
We help you gather and organise all required documents and supporting materials.
Claim Readiness
We help you assemble deliverable evidence as the project runs, so the single, final claim is complete when it is due.
Applying on Your Own versus Working with Firefish
| Feature | Applying On Your Own | Firefish Consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Time Investment | Reading the grant page, the FAQ and the Eligible Activities schedule end to end, then drafting | Your time goes into the project, not the paperwork |
| Expert Guidance | — | Yes, dedicated consultant |
| Application Quality | Variable, may have errors or gaps | Reviewed against the published criteria |
| Retrospective-application risk | Easy to trip on a deposit or signed PO | Sequencing checked before you commit |
| Maximum Grant Amount | May under-claim against the pillar cap | Scoped to the correct pillar cap |
| Country-Specific Knowledge | — | Southeast Asia market guides for 5 key markets |
| Support After Approval | No support once the Letter of Offer is issued | Deliverable evidence and claim preparation |
| Cost | Your time, plus the cost of a mis-scoped project | Transparent, success-based pricing |