EDGE Grant for Branding in Singapore: What Changed from EDG (2026)

Tangible — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:19:03 +0000

The short answer: Singapore’s EDGE grant replaced EDG, MRA and PSG for new applications on 30 September 2026. For branding, EDGE funds one activity, International Branding: brand research, brand strategy and brand identity that support expansion into overseas markets. SMEs can receive up to 70% support and other businesses up to 50%. It does not fund brand work for the Singapore market alone.

Last updated 9 October 2026, from Enterprise Singapore and BizSG pages.

EDG vs EDGE for branding at a glance

Side-by-side comparison of the old EDG grant and the new EDGE grant for brand projects.

What is the EDGE Grant?

EDGE is Enterprise Singapore’s single grant for business upgrading, replacing three older schemes. It covers 8 business areas and more than 150 activities, from automation and digitalisation to internationalisation, sustainability and business strategy, and each activity has its own support level.

EDGE for Branding	Details
Category	International Branding
Support	Up to 70% of eligible professional fees for SMEs, up to 50% for other businesses
Annual Cap	S$100,000 per company per year, shared across all EDGE activities, resetting on 1 April
Payment	By reimbursement, after the project is completed and fully paid

Up to 70%, up to S$100,000: how the two limits work.

“Up to 70%” is the most the grant can pay towards your eligible professional fees. It is a ceiling, not a promise, and the grant amount you receive is confirmed in your Letter of Offer. Separately, S$100,000 is the most grant you can receive in a year, across all EDGE activities. For example, if an SME were supported at 70% on S$60,000 of fees, the grant would pay S$42,000, and that S$42,000 would count toward the S$100,000.

Can you still apply for EDG?

No. EDG, MRA and PSG stopped taking new applications on 29 September 2026, and EDGE took over from 30 September. If you submitted an application before 29 September, it continues under the original scheme until the project finishes. For brand projects, the bigger change is where branding now sits.

Does EDGE fund branding?

Until 29 September, businesses could apply for EDG support for strategic brand and marketing development, at up to 50% of eligible costs for SMEs, with a higher rate for sustainability-related projects. That route was open to brand work for any market, including Singapore alone.

Under EDGE, the brand-specific route is an activity called International Branding, listed under Internationalisation. You choose at least one of three areas of support. The grant pays for the thinking and the identity, not the production that follows.

Area	What it includes	Covered by the grant?
Brand research and analysis	Brand audit, competitor analysis, gap analysis	Yes
Brand strategy	Positioning, target segments, brand architecture or portfolio strategy, and a roadmap for your target markets	Yes
Brand identity	Developing or refreshing brand elements and guidelines	Yes
Collateral, website and social media	Collateral production, website development, social media management	No
Implementation and campaigns	Rolling out the brand roadmap, marketing plans and campaigns	No
Domestic business	Activities aimed at generating business opportunities in Singapore	No
GST	Goods and Services Tax	No

How this maps to a Tangible project.

The grant covers the professional fees for the front end of a brand project: the research and insight work, the brand strategy and its roadmap for your target markets, and the brand identity with its guidelines. It does not cover the executional work that follows, such as building a website, running social media, producing collateral, or carrying out the implementation plan.

Two-column overview of brand work EDGE covers and does not cover.

What does a funded branding project look like?

Here are three illustrative examples of how the three funded areas can come together for a company going overseas. They are examples, not promises. What is supported depends on your expansion plan, your target market and Enterprise Singapore’s assessment.

Situation	Brand research and analysis	Brand Strategy	Brand Identity
A Singapore healthcare provider entering its first overseas market	Local patient and competitor research, and how the brand is likely to be seen there	Positioning for the new market, target segments, and whether the name and promise travel	Visual identity adapted for the new market, with brand guidelines
A B2B services firm with a clear positioning, expanding into two neighbouring markets	A check on how buyers in both markets see the current brand, and how it compares with local competitors	Confirm the existing positioning holds in each market, and adjust it where it does not	A refreshed identity built to work across both markets: logo, colour, typography and the guidelines regional teams follow
A group with several sub-brands going regional	A review of how the current brands are seen, and where they overlap, in each target market	Brand architecture: which brands lead, which sit under others, and how that changes by market	An identity system and guidelines that link the brands together

In all three, the website, social media, campaigns, collateral and rolling out the roadmap sit outside the grant. We can still do that work with you, but it is paid for separately.

Each project is built around a named overseas market, because your application needs an overseas market strategy. A plan for “overseas” in general is harder to scope and harder to justify than one for a specific country.

How do you apply for the International Branding activity?

Your company must be registered and operating in Singapore, with at least 30% direct or indirect ownership by Singapore citizens or permanent residents, determined by ultimate individual ownership. You must keep meeting these criteria until your claim is submitted, not only at application. The process has eight steps. Enterprise Singapore’s page is the source of truth, so check it for the latest requirements before you apply.

Prepare your documents.
You will need an outline of your overseas market strategy and expansion plan, your consultancy’s proposal and quotation, and two projections for the year after the project: expected overseas sales, and new jobs created (overall, and for Singaporeans, at gross monthly salaries above S$5,000).
Choose your market and your consultancy.
The proposal must correspond to branding for your target market. The application also asks for the vendor’s SS 680 certification. Tangible is led by a PMC-certified consultant (Practising Management Consultant) under SS 680, who personally leads every project. This is the stage where we help you shape the brief.
Apply on the Business Grants Portal.
Sign in with your company’s Corppass. Third parties cannot apply or manage the grant for you, so the application is yours.
Accept your Letter of Offer.
If approved, it sets out the grant amount, conditions, project period and deliverables.
Complete the project within 12 months of approval.
Costs incurred from the application date are covered once approved. After the project starts, you can only change the end date or the claim due date, and both need approval.
Prepare your claim.
Set up your payment method, gather your claim documents and engage an auditor. We guide you through the process and prepare the project report for you to submit.
Submit your claim on the portal.
Incomplete claims can be delayed or rejected, and your claim only goes to Enterprise Singapore once the audit is complete, so pay the audit firm promptly.
Receive your grant.
Payment follows claim approval: 14 working days by PayNow Corporate, or up to eight weeks by GIRO.

Two rules catch people out. Do not start work or pay any deposit to a supplier before you submit the application, or you will be ineligible. And because the grant reimburses you, you pay the full cost first, plus the auditor’s fee.

Is International Branding right for your business?

International Branding fits businesses that have already decided where they are going. It does not fit businesses that are still deciding, or that are building a brand for Singapore.

Your situation	Does the EDGE Grant apply?
You have chosen an overseas market and have an expansion plan	Likely yes. Your plan, projections and brand project line up with what the application asks for.
You are considering overseas but have not chosen a market	Not yet. The application needs a defined market and plan, so settle those first.
You are rebranding for the Singapore market	No. We have found no EDGE activity that funds it.

Our view: Your brand should follow your ambition

EDGE now asks you to decide where your business is going before it funds the brand that supports it. We think that is the right order, with or without a grant.

At Tangible, we align brand strategy with the business strategy it serves. Your business strategy sets the direction, and the brand makes that direction credible to the customers you want to reach. An application that asks for an overseas market plan, sales projections and a brand strategy tied to both is asking for the same alignment.

We would add one caution: do not go overseas to get the grant. Your projections go to a government agency and are tested at audit, so they need to be numbers you believe. If your next move is growth at home, your brand still deserves investment, and we would rather help you scope it well than stretch a story to fit a funding rule.

What to do now

Settle your overseas plan first. Decide which market you are entering and what you expect to sell there over the next year.
Hold off on commitments. Do not start work or pay a deposit until your application is submitted. You can still get proposals and quotes.
Budget for what the grant does not cover. That includes production, websites and campaigns, the auditor’s fee, and the gap between paying and being reimbursed.
Check your cap. The S$100,000 annual limit is shared across every EDGE activity, so digital or automation projects use the same pool.
Talk to us before you scope. A short conversation can tell you whether your project is a fit and how to structure it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EDG still open?
No. EDG, MRA and PSG stopped taking new applications on 29 September 2026. Applications submitted before then continue under the original scheme.

Who is eligible for the International Branding activity?
Your company must be registered and operating in Singapore, with at least 30% direct or indirect ownership by Singapore citizens or permanent residents.

How long does approval take?
About 10 weeks from application. Once approved, you have 12 months to complete the project.

How much will the grant pay?
EDGE support is capped at S$100,000 per company per year across all activities. International Branding is supported at up to 70% of eligible professional fees for SMEs and up to 50% for non-SME businesses.

Can the grant pay for our website or launch campaign?
Not under International Branding, which funds research, strategy and identity. Production and campaign costs are excluded.

Does Tangible submit the application for us?
The application must come from your company through Corppass. We guide you through the process, and at the end of the project we prepare the project report for you to submit.

Is this advice on whether we qualify?
No. It reflects published Enterprise Singapore information as of 9 October 2026. Eligibility depends on your company, so check it on BizSG or with Enterprise Singapore before you rely on it.

Planning a brand project for an overseas market?

Tangible has supported grant-funded brand projects for over a decade, and we are working through what EDGE means for each type of project we take on. If you are planning to expand overseas, talk to us before you settle your scope or budget. We will tell you plainly whether your project is a fit for International Branding, and how to structure it so the brand work and the application support each other.

Sources: Enterprise Singapore, EDGE Grant · BizSG, International Branding

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