Singapore-based tech companies and start-ups can now look forward to shortened deployment timelines when working on government projects.

With the launch of the Tech Acceleration Lab yesterday, companies will have a test sandbox on the Government's cloud service where they can demonstrate proof-of-concept to public agencies.

This new accelerator programme by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will help companies to test and deploy solutions in as little as two months, compared with the typical six to nine months.

Companies can also get familiar with government security and deployment requirements through workshops.

The programme was announced by Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran at the third annual Singapore Digital Techblazer Awards yesterday.

The programme aims to create "win-win outcomes" for both government and industry, said Mr Iswaran, who was speaking at the awards ceremony at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

"Government agencies will gain access to the latest technology and innovations to improve citizens' lives," he said.

"At the same time, technology companies and start-ups will be better attuned to (our) needs and requirements, and have the opportunity to demonstrate their core capabilities to government procurers."

For a start, the Tech Acceleration Lab will be open to companies that are working on government projects under the IMDA's Accreditation@SGD and SGD Spark programmes.

The IMDA said it is exploring expanding the programme to the wider tech sector in the third quarter of this year.

Mr Liu Fengyuan, who is the chief executive officer of local artificial intelligence start-up BasisAI, said that one of the biggest challenges for start-ups without prior experience selling to government agencies is the gap in implicit knowledge about government processes - something that incumbent vendors have built up over the years.

"What (the programme) is doing is helping start-ups understand government IT processes. For example, when we understood that cyber security was important and (certain) benchmarks were important, we were able to obtain certification for our Bedrock product," said Mr Liu.

Last month, the Government announced that it will pump a record $25 billion over five years into the science and technology sector under Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan.