Building on "Made With Passion" to Launch New Initiatives for SMEs to Venture Overseas by Capitalising on Singapore's Trust Premium
Ministry of Trade and IndustrySpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Ng Shi Xuan’s inquiry on leveraging the "Made With Passion" initiative to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) capitalise on Singapore's trust premium when venturing overseas. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong noted that the initiative is under review and highlighted existing measures like the Market Readiness Assistance Grant, which provides up to 70% support. This grant helps SMEs defray costs for market promotion and business development, while Enterprise Singapore facilitates participation in overseas missions and connects companies with in-market partners. Additionally, SMEs are supported through Singapore pavilions at trade shows to enhance their international brand equity and growth strategies. The Ministry of Trade and Industry continues to evaluate these initiatives to ensure they effectively meet the internationalisation needs of local companies.
Transcript
95 Mr Ng Shi Xuan asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Government will consider building on the success of the "Made With Passion" initiative and introduce new initiatives for SMEs which are looking to venture overseas to capitalise on Singapore's trust premium and brand equity.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The "Made with Passion" (MWP) initiative was launched in 2020 by the Singapore Tourism Board and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) to celebrate and support enterprising local brands and build on Singapore's destination brand. Today, there are more than 150 MWP brands. MWP also serves as a platform to promote awareness and drive the growth of local lifestyle brands through collaborations and participation in various partnerships and overseas opportunities. We are currently reviewing the initiative and will provide an update in due course.
The Government has introduced a suite of measures to support capability development and overseas ventures of our local companies, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
For example, to encourage more SMEs to internationalise and seek new opportunities abroad, the Government announced a series of enhancements at the Budget and Ministry of Trade and Industry's (MTI's) Committee of Supply debates this year. These include increasing support levels of up to 70% for internationalisation-related schemes, such as the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) Grant. MRA helps to defray the cost of overseas market promotion, business development and set-up. EnterpriseSG also partners trade associations and chambers to support companies' participation in overseas business missions and trade shows. Besides being able to exhibit under a Singapore pavilion, the companies are also connected to in-market partners which aids their internationalisation journey.
MTI and EnterpriseSG, together with sector agencies, are continuing to review our initiatives to ensure our companies are equipped to pursue the growth strategies that best meet their needs.