New initiative to help infocomm media start-ups

SINGAPORE - Promising infocomm media start-ups looking for help to grow can now benefit from a new government programme.

Called SG:D Spark, the scheme launched on Wednesday (Nov 7) by Minister for Communication and Information S. Iswaran aims to grow start-ups with the support of community partners. It has been initiated by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Mr Iswaran said at an awards presentation at Resorts World Convention Centre that the initiative can "help to create a conducive environment for start-ups to get started and grow".

"They constitute a base from which our future SMES (small and medium-sized enterprises) and tech champions will emerge," he added.

Selected start-ups will be given priority during the processing of grant applications by IMDA and manpower support, among other benefits. They will also have access to a network of professional services firms and industry mentors.

Mr Iswaran said: "Through the support from subject matter experts within the community together with government tools, we aim to provide the resources, knowledge and network that are essential to the companies' growth."

Eligible start-ups include those working on enterprise and consumer technology, hardware and IT services.

They must be assessed by the IMDA. Assessment criteria include being registered in Singapore, having employees here and a novel infocomm media product or service.

They must also have an annual Singapore sales turnover of less than $20 million and an annual group revenue of less than $100 million.

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