Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) deputy chief executive Michael Yap said this on the sidelines of a digital media conference and exhibition on Friday.

'In these tough times, innovation is harder,' said Mr Yap in his opening address at the event, in reference to the ongoing financial turmoil.

Funding for start-up companies has definitely taken a hit, but it was still too early to say if private investors have bailed out for good, or 'paused', he said, while investors take stock of the situation and re-do their sums.

Many early stage start-ups depend on private equity, from angel investors to venture capital funds, to get started.

If necessary, the Government will consider doing more to make sure Singapore's digital media start-up scene does not collapse, said Mr Yap.

The Government's goal though, remains 'quality' and not 'quantity', so only worthwhile projects will be funded, said Mr Yap, who foresees more start-ups applying for public funds in the coming months.

Some of the ways the Government could help hard-up start-ups include match-making them with venture capital firms still keen on the sector, although Mr Yap did not rule out the possibility of upping the amount of public funds given out to start-ups.

Digital media, together with biotechnology and renewable energy, have been identified as three key growth areas for the Republic, and the National Research Foundation has set aside $500 million to grow the digital media sector.

On Friday, the Government also announced a new incubator, the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (Sitf), which start-ups can approach.

The Sitf will be able to dish out up to $50,000 in public grants to help individuals and start-ups kick-off innovative digital media projects.

The Sitf, which counts technology giants like Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and SingTel amongst its 400 members, will also start a mentorship programme to help these individuals and start-ups, said Sitf digital media chapter chairman Ng Chong Khim.

Some ways these experienced technology companies can help, said Mr Ng, include advice on which technologies to adopt and how to market their products or services overseas.

With the Sitf, the Government now have 10 incubators in the digital media space. These incubators are expected to nurture some 450 start-ups over the next few years.

The Government is keen to fund '100 to 150' digital media projects every year, said Mr Yap.

So far, about 90 digital media projects have successfully obtained public funds to date, with 30 of them successfully obtaining private sector funding to help them grow further.

Other speakers at the Digital Media Festival event include digital media firm The Strange Company's chief executive Hugh Hancock, Finnish production house Energia Productions' founder Timo Vuorensola, and national broadcaster Mediacorp's executive vice-president Kenneth Liang.

They covered a broad range of topics, from new media business models to how to delivery content over the Internet to copyright, at the one-day event held at The Legends Fort Canning Park.