The Startup SG Founder (SSGF) programme is open to all Singaporeans/Permanent Residents who meet the following conditions at the time of application to EnterpriseSG and throughout the grant period of 12 months.

At least 2 SC/PR applicants who:
• Are first-time founders (i.e. have no prior Private Limited entity on ACRA)
• Are key decision makers and contribute meaningfully to the company
• Are not employed externally and who are able to commit full time to the company:
- External employment is where employers, contribute CPF for their employees (apart from the entity recipient of the Startup SG Founder grant). Full-time National Service is considered employment.
- Full time commitment is not fulfilled if applicant is engaged in studies or part-time work (i.e. Students with ongoing academic commitments are not considered full-time committed to the company)
• Have undergone entrepreneurship training
- Entrepreneurship training refers to a structured course or programme that teaches the fundamental frameworks and processes of entrepreneurship. It can cover core content that includes (but is not limited) to the following: Venture creation process, value proposition; Lean methodology, business canvas model; Market analysis and validation; Business model, pricing strategy and go-to-market; Customer journey, prototyping and product roadmap; Intellectual Property and competitive strategy; Financials and cash-flow; Pitching and fundraising, valuation.
• Hold equity in the company, with a minimum of 30% collectively

The company must:
• Not have received funding from another government organisation (for the same business idea).
• Not have received the SSGF grant before.
• Have minimum 51% of issued shares are owned by SC/PR
• Be registered as a private limited entity in Singapore for less than 6 months*
• Invest a co-matching amount of S$20,000 as paid-up capital on ACRA: ave at least $10,000 as paid-up capital on ACRA at the point of application to EnterpriseSG.
• Not have a proposed business idea that falls under the list provided below: Cafes, restaurants, night clubs, lounges, bars, foot reflexology, massage parlours, gambling, prostitution, social escort services, employment agencies (including recruiting foreign work permit holders and workers/support staff, relocation services, and manpower services), and geomancy.

*All main applicants who are first-time founders are to hold non-zero equity.

Sign up here and attach your pitch deck for the AMP’s consideration.

Yes. It’s an equity-free grant, meaning that ESG does not take shares in company in exchange for the grant. However, the grant disbursement is tied to certain milestones and will only be unlocked after the achievement of the milestones. Please approach the AMPs to find out more about the milestones component of the grant.

The applicant’s business entity should not have been registered or incorporated for more than 6 months at the point of application to the Accredited Mentor Partner (AMP). If your business entity has been registered for more than 6 months and you are applying the grant under that business entity, you will not be eligible. If you have more than one business entity registered under your name, you will not qualify as a first-time founder5 to apply for the grant.

You will still be eligible if the Sole Proprietorship/Partnerships or LLP had been registered for less than 6 months at the point of application to the AMP. You will be required to shut down the existing sole proprietorship/partnership or LLP and incorporate a PrivateLimited company prior to the application to EnterpriseSG. The grant monies are intended for the sole purpose of the main applicants to use as working capital for their registered company that is the receiving entity of the grant. If you had previously incorporated a sole proprietorship/partnership or LLP, and subsequently shut it down to incorporate a Private Limited bearing the same company name, the 6-months period starts at the point when you first incorporated the sole proprietorship/partnership or LLP

Both applicants cannot be employed by another organization besides the startup and must be key decision makers in the startup.

The startup should notify both their AMP and Enterprise SG immediately, and they will be given 3 months to find a replacement that fulfills ALL eligibility criteria. If the startup fails to find a replacement, EnterpriseSG reserves the right to terminate the grant and activate a clawback of the grant monies disbursed from the startup.

Before award of the grant, AMPs must:

• Assess and recommend to ESG quality startups for the grant
• Check if startups meet the eligibility criteria (which now includes having a minimum of 3 SC/PR employees)
• Recommend suitable developmental milestones for startups to unlock funding

• Provide mentorship for startups for at least 12 months
• Provide networks and resources to help startups grow
• Work closely with ESG on the progress of the startups