By KYN AI Advisory Team — AI implementation specialists, Singapore
A Singapore SME can claim up to 70% of qualifying costs for an automation or digitalisation project under the EDGE Grant, capped at S$100,000 of grant support a year. EDGE replaced the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG), the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and the Market Readiness Assistance grant (MRA) for new applications from 30 September 2026. The grant reimburses you after the work is complete and paid for. It does not pay upfront, and it does not fund every AI project. Your activity must match one on Enterprise Singapore's list.
What is the EDGE Grant?
Enterprise Singapore's EDGE page describes one grant covering more than 150 activities across business areas, including Automation and Digitalisation, Business Strategy, Financial Management, Innovation, Internationalisation, Standards and Sustainability.
From the same page:
- Support level: up to 70% for SMEs and up to 50% for non-SMEs. The rate varies by activity.
- Cap: S$100,000 of grant support per year across all activities. The cap resets on 1 April.
- Payment: reimbursement. You claim after the activity is complete and fully paid for.
- Old schemes: EDG, MRA and PSG ceased on 29 September 2026. Submissions and projects already in progress are still processed, and claims go in on completion.
If you read an older guide that quotes 50% under EDG or a PSG pre-approved solutions list, it describes the scheme before the change. Check the date on any guide.
Which AI projects are likely to qualify?
Fact: the EDGE page lists Automation and Digitalisation as a core business area and mentions adopting new digital solutions. It does not name AI as a category.
View: projects that look like process automation or a new digital solution fit the stated purpose better than open-ended experiments. Examples of the shape that tends to fit:
- an inbound enquiry and quotation workflow that replaces manual re-keying;
- bank, invoice and receipt reconciliation that replaces spreadsheet matching;
- an operations report that replaces a weekly manual compile;
- a customer record system that replaces scattered files.
Projects that tend to fit poorly: a chatbot subscription with no change to a process, a tool you rent month to month with nothing to show at the end, and anything where the cost is mostly your own staff time.
Whether a specific activity qualifies is Enterprise Singapore's decision, not a vendor's. Look up the activity on the EDGE listing and read its conditions before you commit.
What costs can you claim?
The page does not list qualifying cost categories in the text we could read, so confirm them on the activity page. In schemes of this type, the usual categories are third-party consultancy, software and equipment, and sometimes training. Typical exclusions are your own salaries, general overheads and anything bought before the application date.
Three practical rules apply whatever the exact list says.
- Apply before you start. Do not sign a contract or pay a deposit before you have a decision. Costs incurred earlier are normally ineligible.
- Pay from the company's account. Keep invoices and proof of payment. Reimbursement depends on both.
- Plan the cash flow. You pay the full cost first and claim afterwards. With a 70% rate on a S$40,000 project you carry S$40,000 until the claim is paid, then recover up to S$28,000, and the remaining S$12,000 is yours.
How do you apply, step by step?
- Define the project in one paragraph. State the process it changes, who uses it and what stops being done manually.
- Pick the matching activity. Find it in the EDGE list under Automation and Digitalisation or the nearest area.
- Get a written scope and quote. It should name deliverables, milestones and the date each is due. Fixed deliverables help a reviewer understand what you are buying.
- Check the eligibility rules. Read the activity's conditions on Enterprise Singapore's pages and the FAQ. Confirm your company's status as an SME under the scheme's definition.
- Submit before you sign. Wait for the decision.
- Build, pay and keep records. Invoices, proof of payment, and evidence the deliverable works.
- Claim on completion. Submit the claim with the evidence. Expect questions.
What is the difference between a grant and a retainer?
Grants usually fund a defined, one-off piece of work. A running system also has monthly costs: changes, monitoring, fixes and model usage. Plan the grant against the build fee and the retainer against your operating budget. Do not assume the grant covers the second.
Common ways a claim fails
- The contract is signed before approval.
- The invoice does not match the approved scope.
- Payment came from a director's personal account.
- The deliverable cannot be shown working at claim time.
- The project is a subscription with no end product.
Each is avoidable with a written scope and one person who owns the paperwork.
How do you compare quotes against a grant?
Ask each vendor for the same four items, so the quotes can be read side by side.
- Deliverables. A list of what exists at the end: systems, integrations, screens, reports, documentation.
- Milestones. Dates and what you can inspect at each one.
- Ownership. Who holds the code, the data and the cloud account when the project ends. A reviewer asks what the company has acquired, and "a login to someone else's platform" is a weak answer.
- Running cost. What you pay each month after the build, stated separately from the build fee.
A quote that bundles build and subscription into one monthly number is hard to map to a one-off project grant. Ask for it to be split.
What should you prepare before you apply?
Gather these in one folder. It saves a week.
- ACRA business profile and your latest financial statements.
- A one-page project description with the process, the users and the expected change.
- Two or three quotes, with the chosen one marked.
- A short note on who owns the project internally.
- A calendar showing when the contract starts, when each milestone is due and when you expect to claim.
If the answer to any item is "we will work it out later", work it out before you submit.
Where KYN fits
KYN scopes a build around a defined list of deliverables, which makes the grant paperwork easier to match. We do not decide eligibility and we do not promise approval. See our grants page for how we handle the documents, and pricing for how fees are structured: a one-off build fee, then a monthly retainer of at least twelve months, quoted after the review.
The first 14 days are a review of your stack and interviews with your team. A full build ships in under 90 days. Every system runs in a cloud account in your name, and rights in the custom code and configuration pass to you on full payment. That ownership is useful when a reviewer asks what the company has at the end.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Singapore SME still use PSG or EDG?
No for new applications. The EDGE page states that EDG, MRA and PSG ceased on 29 September 2026 and that businesses apply under EDGE from 30 September 2026. Projects and submissions already in progress continue to be processed.
Does the grant pay upfront?
No. EDGE reimburses after the activity is complete and fully paid for. You fund the full cost first and claim afterwards, so plan the cash.
Is an AI project eligible?
It depends on the activity. The EDGE page lists Automation and Digitalisation as a core area but does not mention AI by name. Match your project to a listed activity and read its conditions before you apply.
Checked 30 October 2026.
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