EDGE Internationalisation Grant Singapore — formerly the MRA Grant

What happened to the MRA Grant?

The MRA Grant was one of Singapore's best-known overseas-expansion grants. It supported companies across three broad pillars:

• overseas market promotion;
• overseas business development;
• overseas market setup.

MRA, EDG and PSG ceased for new applications on 29 September 2026, with new business-grant applications moving into EDGE from 30 September.

The internationalisation support itself has not disappeared. It has been restructured and expanded within EDGE.

What changed from MRA to EDGE Internationalisation?

Enterprise Singapore announced that, with EDGE implementation, the former MRA activities would be extended to local non-SMEs and that the new-market criterion would be removed, allowing companies to deepen their presence in existing overseas markets as well as enter new ones.

This is one of the most important changes.

A company no longer needs to be entering a completely new country for an Internationalisation project to potentially qualify.

Market Entry Setup

Market Entry Setup supports the practical infrastructure required to establish or expand a company's presence overseas.

Current areas of support include:

• overseas entity incorporation;
• drafting market-specific agreements;
• import/export licences;
• overseas intellectual-property registration;
• tax advisory;
• trade credit insurance.

Support is currently up to 70% for SMEs and 50% for non-SMEs, principally against qualifying professional-service costs.

Projects can run for up to 18 months.

Particularly relevant where

A company has already identified the target market and now needs to move from commercial intent to a legally and operationally viable presence.

For overseas entity incorporation, Enterprise Singapore currently expects the Singapore applicant to hold more than 50% ownership of the foreign entity, unless local foreign-ownership restrictions apply.

Identification of Potential Overseas Partnerships

This activity supports companies engaging specialist providers to identify and connect with suitable overseas business partners.

Potential partners can include:

• distributors;
• agents;
• franchisees;
• licensees;
• suppliers;
• joint-venture partners;
• logistics providers.

The work should extend beyond producing a database of names.

Enterprise Singapore currently expects research into potential partners followed by one-to-one, in-person business meetings with shortlisted organisations and documented assessment of the resulting opportunities.

Projects currently run for up to 12 months, with up to 70% support for SMEs and 50% for non-SMEs.

Overseas Marketing & Public Relations

This activity supports targeted marketing and PR programmes designed specifically for overseas markets.

Potential activities include:

• in-store promotions;
• roadshows;
• pop-up stores;
• social-media campaigns;
• online and offline media outreach;
• other market-specific promotional activities.

A critical requirement is market adaptation.

Enterprise Singapore expects the activity and content to reflect the target market's preferences, culture and business environment. Simply translating or reproducing an existing Singapore campaign is not the intended use case.

This is therefore strongest where the company has a defined overseas commercial objective and a marketing programme designed specifically around that market.

Overseas Physical Trade Fairs

EDGE can support Singapore companies exhibiting at qualifying overseas B2B trade fairs.

Current qualifying cost areas include:

• booth-space rental;
• booth design and construction;
• pitching or speaking opportunities;
• marketing and publicity collateral produced for the trade fair.

Booth-space and construction support is currently capped at 36 sqm.

Important timing exception

Trade fairs have a specific timing rule.

Applications must generally be submitted no earlier than six months before the official commencement date of the fair.

Unlike most EDGE projects, payments or deposits made to secure the booth before application submission are currently permitted for this activity.

This exception should not be assumed for other Internationalisation activities.

Overseas Business Development Staff Deployment

This activity supports companies placing a permanent Business Development employee physically in an overseas market to build the business locally.

Support can currently cover:

• basic salary;
• commercial office rental;

for up to 12 months.

The project must run for at least six months.

Funding depends on who is deployed

For SMEs:

• Singaporean / PR employee: up to 70%
• foreign employee: up to 50%

For non-SMEs:

• Singaporean / PR employee: up to 50%
• foreign employee: up to 30%.

The employee must be full-time and cannot hold shareholding or directorship positions in the applicant or its related companies.

Enterprise Singapore also expects evidence of continuous physical presence in the target market and business-development outputs such as meetings, leads, partnerships and measurable milestones.

International Branding

International Branding supports companies adapting or developing their brand specifically to facilitate overseas expansion.

Current areas include:

• brand research and analysis;
• brand strategy;
• development or refresh of brand identity.

The activity provides up to 70% support for SMEs and 50% for non-SMEs against qualifying professional-service costs.

The consultant currently needs to meet the applicable SS 680 certification requirement.

The support is for strategic branding work—not routine marketing execution.

Costs such as website development, social-media management, collateral production and implementation of marketing campaigns are specifically excluded from this activity.

International Financial and Tax Planning

This activity supports companies developing the tax and financial structures required to expand internationally.

The work can cover areas including:

• foreign tax regimes;
• tax-risk management;
• foreign tax credits;
• international tax strategy;
• capital structures supporting overseas projects;
• overseas financial and regulatory regimes.

It currently provides up to 70% support for SMEs and 50% for non-SMEs against qualifying professional-service costs, with a project period of up to 12 months.

The engaged management consultant currently needs SS 680 certification.

This route is particularly relevant where internationalisation creates structural Finance and tax questions that go materially beyond routine compliance.

Does the overseas market still need to be new?

No—not necessarily.

Under the former MRA Grant, the company generally needed to satisfy a new-market test, based on its historical sales in that country.

Enterprise Singapore announced the removal of that criterion with the transition into EDGE.

The current policy is intended to support both:

• entering new overseas markets; and
• deepening the company's presence in existing overseas markets.

This can materially broaden the relevance of the grant for established Singapore companies that already have some international revenue.

The individual activity still needs a credible overseas-expansion objective.

What expenditure can qualify?

The cost base depends on the Internationalisation activity.

Professional services

Relevant to activities such as:

• market-entry setup;
• overseas partner identification;
• overseas marketing and PR;
• international branding;
• international financial and tax planning.

Trade-fair expenditure

Potentially including:

• booth rental;
• booth construction;
• speaking or pitching slots;
• event-specific marketing materials.

Overseas Business Development Staff

Potentially including:

• qualifying basic salary;
• commercial office rental.

Travel and accommodation are generally not supported under the current Internationalisation activities reviewed. GST is also commonly excluded.

The relevant cost categories should always be checked against the exact activity before the project is committed.

Key conditions

The project needs an overseas commercial objective

Domestic activities are not supportable simply because the company operates internationally.

The activity needs to match the actual project

An overseas PR campaign, distributor search and entity incorporation project are separate activities with different deliverables.

The overseas market needs to be defined

The application should establish where the company is expanding and why the activity is relevant to that market.

Vendor credentials matter

For vendor-led activities, Enterprise Singapore frequently asks for track records demonstrating relevant experience in the target overseas market.

Apply before commitment

The general rule is that work, payment and deposits should not commence before submission.

Trade fairs have a specific exception for securing booth space.

The business case needs measurable outcomes

Current applications commonly request projected:

• overseas sales;
• new jobs;
• Singaporean jobs above the stated salary threshold.

When should you apply?

The Internationalisation activities are currently available on a rolling basis.

The right trigger is normally when:

• management has selected the target market;
• the overseas commercial objective is defined;
• the activity required to support expansion is clear;
• vendors, trade fairs or deployment options are being evaluated;

but before the project is committed.

Most of the current activities state that eligible costs incurred from the application date may be covered if the project is later approved. This does not mean approval is guaranteed once an application has been submitted.

How does the application work?

1. Define the overseas growth objective

Clarify the target market and what the company is trying to achieve there.

2. Select the correct Internationalisation activity

Determine whether the project concerns market setup, partners, promotion, trade fairs, in-market staff, branding or financial/tax structuring.

3. Structure the project

Define:

• scope;
• target market;
• vendor or resource required;
• qualifying expenditure;
• project duration;
• deliverables;
• expected overseas revenue impact.

4. Prepare supporting information

Depending on the activity, this can include:

• vendor proposal and quotation;
• vendor overseas-market track record;
• branding or expansion strategy;
• SS 680 certification;
• trade-fair information;
• employee CV and job description;
• overseas-sales projections;
• job-creation projections.

5. Company submits through BGP

The applicant submits through its own Corppass / Business Grants Portal account.

Enterprise Singapore states that third parties are not permitted to formally apply for or manage the grant on behalf of the applicant.

Reeve | R&D can manage the preparation and coordination of the workstream while the company remains the formal applicant.

6. Enterprise Singapore assessment

Current Internationalisation pages generally indicate outcomes of approximately:

• 6 weeks for several operational internationalisation activities;
• 10 weeks for activities such as International Branding and International Financial & Tax Planning.

7. Letter of Offer

The LOF establishes the approved:

• grant amount;
• qualifying period;
• conditions;
• deliverables.

Is EDGE Internationalisation relevant to your project?

EDGE Internationalisation is strongest where the company has moved beyond a generic ambition to “go overseas” and has a defined market, commercial objective and action plan.

A strong project might look like:

international demand validated overseas entity and licences required Market Entry Setup

market opportunity identified local visibility insufficient targeted PR and promotion

product already selling internationally company needs permanent in-market BD capability

existing overseas business growing financial and tax structure needs to mature

Importantly, an existing presence in the target market no longer automatically disqualifies the company.

The relevant question is:

“What is the next concrete step required to enter or deepen our position in this overseas market, and which EDGE activity supports that step?”

How Reeve | R&D supports EDGE Internationalisation

Opportunity assessment

Identify which Internationalisation activity fits the company's overseas expansion plan and whether the timing and eligibility conditions are met.

Funding strategy

Assess the project alongside the company's other EDGE activities and wider internationalisation incentives.

Project structuring

Define the target market, commercial objective, scope, expenditure, deliverables and expected overseas impact.

Application preparation

Coordinate vendor documentation, project narrative, market information, projections and supporting evidence.

Enterprise Singapore interaction

Support clarification requests and assessment discussions.

Award and Post-Award Management

Translate the Letter of Offer into practical Finance and project-management requirements and support the company through implementation, evidence collection and claim preparation.

Assess your internationalisation project