How to Apply for the MRA Grant: 10 Steps

Identify Your Target Market

Your target market must be new to you: annual sales in that country must not have exceeded S$100,000 in any of the preceding three years. Newness is assessed at country level, not by region or product line. If sales exceeded S$100,000 in any one of those years, the market does not qualify.

Note: The S$100,000 grant cap is per company per new market, so several markets can run in parallel — each needs its own application per pillar, and Enterprise Singapore will assess whether you have the financing and manpower to deliver them all.

Choose Your Activity

MRA funding is grouped into three pillars, each with its own grant cap. Pick the pillar — or pillars — that fit your plan:

• Pillar 1 — Overseas Market Promotion (grant cap S$20,000): Overseas marketing and PR campaigns, road shows, pop-up stores, in-store promotions, social and media outreach; plus physical and virtual trade fairs. Booth space and booth design are each capped at 36 sqm. LEAD-supported fairs, B2C-only fairs and co-shared booths are not supported.
• Pillar 2 — Overseas Business Development (grant cap S$50,000): Identifying and meeting potential overseas partners through in-person, one-to-one business matching; Overseas Marketing Presence, deploying a full-time BD employee in-market for 6–12 months (basic salary + office rental); or In-market Business Development, outsourced BD services for 3–12 months.
• Pillar 3 — Overseas Market Set-up (grant cap S$30,000): Incorporating an overseas entity; registering intellectual property you own; tax structure planning; import/export licences and certifications; trade credit insurance; drafting market-specific business agreements.

One application per pillar — and you can run all three concurrently. If you want a trade fair and an overseas entity incorporated, that is two applications. All three pillars together can draw up to the S$100,000 grant cap for that market.

The one internal restriction: under Pillar 2, you cannot hold concurrent Overseas Marketing Presence and In-market Business Development applications for the same market. See the full pillar breakdown.

Gather Your Documents

Collect these documents:

• BizFile Confirmation: From Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) showing your company details
• Financial Statements: Latest available. If your company is exempt from audit, unaudited financial statements or certified management accounts are acceptable. Newly incorporated companies should provide year-to-date certified accounts from the incorporation date.
• Vendor Quotation: An itemised quote from your chosen third-party vendor. This is critical — your approved costs are based on this quotation and cannot be increased later.
• Business Proposal: Scope, timeline, budget, deliverables and KPIs. The KPIs you state here are what your claim will be assessed against.

Tip: Vague quotations are the most expensive shortcut in this process. MRA accepts a single and final claim based on the approved quotation, so anything your vendor bills later cannot be recovered.

Decide Whether to Get Help — and Understand the Limits

Plenty of companies apply on their own, and Enterprise Singapore publishes detailed guidance plus free advisory through SME Centres. Where an experienced adviser like Firefish earns its keep is in scoping: matching your plan to the right pillar, writing deliverables and KPIs that will survive the claim audit and spotting the rules that void an application before you break one.

• Confirming which activities fall inside each pillar — and which are excluded
• Structuring the vendor quotation so approved costs match what you will actually spend
• Writing a proposal whose deliverables map cleanly onto Enterprise Singapore's assessment criteria
• Sequencing the project so nothing makes the application retrospective
• Preparing claim documentation from day one, rather than reconstructing it a year later

Submit on Business Grants Portal via Corppass

Submit your application through the Business Grants Portal using Corppass. Prepare the following:

• Corppass credentials (your company's digital identity with the Singapore government)
• All your supporting documents uploaded
• Your proposal and budget breakdown
• Details of your target market and timeline

Remember: one application per pillar. Two pillars means two submissions.

Who submits: a staff member with the Corppass Preparer or Acceptor role, from your own company. Your Corppass Administrator assigns these under the "MTI – Business Grants Portal (BGP)" digital service.

Portal link: Business Grants Portal

Wait for Approval (8–12 Weeks)

Enterprise Singapore states that each complete application takes approximately 8 to 12 weeks to process. Incomplete applications generate clarification requests and each round adds time. On approval you receive a Letter of Offer setting out:

• The approved grant amount (up to 70% of eligible costs, within the pillar cap and the S$100,000 per-market grant cap)
• The approved activities and scope
• The project qualifying period — a maximum of 12 months
• The required project deliverables, which determine whether your claim is paid in full
• The claim submission deadline
• Enterprise Singapore's appointed auditors (Annex 6)

The Letter of Offer is the governing document. Your CEO or Managing Director — the Corppass Acceptor — must accept it. Once issued, the addressee cannot be amended, so make sure the right person holds the Acceptor role before approval.

Execute Your Project (Up to 12 Months)

Now the delivery phase. Proceed with your overseas expansion activities exactly as outlined in your Letter of Offer and keep track of:

• All invoices and receipts
• Payment records (bank statements, credit card statements)
• Contracts and agreements signed
• Photos, event materials, attendance records (for trade fairs/promotions)
• Evidence of activities (reports, meeting notes, etc.)

Timeline: the maximum support period is 12 months. Overseas Marketing Presence projects run 6–12 months; In-market Business Development runs 3–12 months; trade fair participation must align with the approved show dates.

Need more time, or a different vendor? Submit a BGP Change Request before the project end date, with a valid reason. Approval is not automatic and requests to increase the approved grant amount will not be considered.

Get Audited by an Enterprise Singapore-Appointed Auditor

Once your activities are complete, an Enterprise Singapore-appointed auditor verifies that costs were incurred in accordance with the Letter of Offer. Their contact details are in Annex 6 of your Letter of Offer on the BGP.

• Audit cost starts from S$200, depending on scope
• It is supported up to 50%, capped at S$500 — so this is co-funded, not fully covered
• Project and audit costs are subject to the same pillar cap

Worth knowing: the auditor verifies your costs. Enterprise Singapore separately assesses whether your project deliverables were met and may raise queries even after the auditor has signed off.

Submit Claim on BGP

Once the auditor has verified your costs, return to the Business Grants Portal and file your claim. You will need:

• The auditor's verification
• Invoices and receipts from your third-party vendor
• Bank statements or equivalent proof that you paid
• Every project deliverable listed in your Letter of Offer — exhibitor listings and branded booth photographs, Notes of Meetings with named attendees, certificates of registration, progress reports and so on
• English translations of any foreign-language documents

Deadline: claims must reach Enterprise Singapore no later than 3 months from the end of the project qualifying period, and by the deadline in your Letter of Offer. Miss it and Enterprise Singapore reserves the right to refuse payment.

One shot: MRA accepts a single and final claim, based on the quotation approved at application stage. Costs your vendor bills after the fact are not claimable. Full detail on the claims page.

Receive Disbursement

Enterprise Singapore reviews the claim, then disburses the approved grant. The speed depends entirely on your payment method:

• PayNow Corporate: approximately 14 working days after claim approval
• GIRO: up to 8 weeks after claim approval — bank details are submitted to Enterprise Singapore via FormSG

You will receive a confirmation email at the address held in the Business Grants Portal. If cash flow matters, register your UEN for PayNow Corporate before you file the claim.