I completely agree with the sentiments expressed by Mr Daniel Tan Jia Hao (Make it easier for SMEs to apply for business grants, June 26). I, too, have gone through a similar experience.

I recently applied for a Productivity Solutions Grant. I had heard that approval for the grant is supposed to be almost immediate once conditions are met.

But I submitted my application - after making sure all eligibility criteria were met - around three months ago and the process is still ongoing.

I suggest some improvements to the process of submitting an application through the Business Grant Portal. The application submission requires the attachment of Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) records as well as the past three years' financial statements.

As SMEs have already submitted their financial statements to Acra, can't the Business Grant Portal obtain such records directly from Acra?

It would also save the approving authority from having to review these records, since their authenticity would be assured.

The civil service has touted a whole-of-government approach, and it's time to put this into practice.

Grant applications should also not be allowed to remain unresolved for too long. If it has been more than two months since an application was submitted, there should be a procedure in place to expedite it.

SMEs need to have as many tools as possible available to them to help them sail through these difficult pandemic times. Government grants are one such tool.

But long delays in approving grant applications will only leave SMEs frustrated and disappointed, with the end result being firms going out of business and leaving their employees jobless.

Liew Meow Koon