The Role of PSG Grant for E-Commerce Businesses in Singapore

Singapore is a leading global destination for e-commerce. The country prides itself on its wide access to high-speed internet connections, robust transportation infrastructure, and an efficient banking system. Singapore also ranks high up on the global Ease of Doing Business index.

All of these factors work in favor of businesses that are intending on setting up e-commerce websites in the country. And with a service like Shopify that allows you to develop and maintain your e-commerce website, there’s no limit to how far you can go in growing your brand.

However, running an e-commerce store doesn’t just require a reliable internet connection or favorable government regulations. Your success in the highly lucrative, yet unpredictable e-commerce industry heavily depends on how easily your business adopts cutting-edge technological solutions. It’s against this backdrop that the government of Singapore introduced the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG).

The PSG is a technology solutions grant that’s aimed at helping companies to adopt cutting-edge IT practices for improved productivity.

How Does PSG Help E-Commerce Businesses In Singapore?

As we’ve already indicated, the primary reason behind the establishment of the PSG in Singapore was to enable companies to adopt pre-scoped IT solutions. Essentially, the pre-scoping of these solutions is done by different government agencies, including the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Enterprise Singapore, and the National Environmental Agency (NEA).

The PSG also plays a role in recommending modern IT equipment that businesses can use to boost their productivity.

One of the best things about this Singapore grant is that it provides IT solutions to all industries. Whether your e-commerce business is in retail, customer management, events and tourism, or construction industries, you can take advantage of the PSG’s pre-scoped solutions to grow your brand.

Just to reaffirm its commitment to helping e-commerce businesses achieve full digitalization, the government of Singapore announced a raft of measures that would improve the efficiency of the PSG business grant. One of those would be to increase the funding support level to 80%, between April 1 and December 31, 2020.

Therefore, eligible e-commerce businesses that apply for the PSG within this timeframe will enjoy a higher accessibility to funding and better IT solutions.

The PSG’s Response to the Novel Coronavirus

The government of Singapore is aware of the potential economic implications of the highly infectious coronavirus disease. And it has since moved to cushion businesses from the raving effects of COVID-19. E-commerce companies that also operate physical retail outlets will particularly benefit from enhanced measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The government, through the PSG, will implement several business continuity measures, including the facilitation of online collaboration tools and the provision of temperature screening solutions. To that end, the PSG will work in collaboration with the Infocomm Media Development Authority.

Under this partnership, eligible e-commerce businesses will benefit from laptop-bundled remote working solutions to promote business continuity amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. The partnership is in line with one of IMDA’s core initiatives, which is helping SMEs go digital.

What is the Eligibility Criteria?

While the PSG business grant promises plenty of goodies for e-commerce companies in Singapore, only eligible firms can apply for this grant.

The following is the minimum eligibility criteria;

• Your e-commerce business must be registered and operating within Singapore
• You must deploy the purchased or leased IT solutions and equipment within the country
• Your shareholders should be at least 30% local

If your e-commerce company meets the above criteria, you can apply for the PSG SME grants by visiting Tech Depot. Here, you’ll be able to source for solutions or equipment that are relevant to your business. After locating your ideal IT solutions, proceed to submit your application on the Business Grants Portal (BGP).

Singapore is not just a global hub for doing business. The country also offers one of the most conducive environments for enabling e-commerce companies to thrive.