40 heartland businesses keen to tap grant for help to organise activities in neighbourhoods
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People at the Easty Breezy Bazaar, a pop-up marketplace in Marine Parade.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE – Some 40 heartland merchants have expressed interest in a new grant for them to conduct activities in community spaces to bring out the unique aspects of each heartland precinct and to involve the community.
The Heartland Enterprise Placemaking Grant was announced during the 2024 Budget debate in March. It helps merchants increase customer footfall through community activities and tap professional services such as event management and auditing.
The grant defrays up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for selected initiatives by these merchants, capped at $10,000 per project. Other areas of support include third-party consultancy, equipment, software and marketing.
A spokesperson for Enterprise Singapore said on Sept 21 that there have been about 40 interested merchants since the grant was announced.
Several recipients were among the 18 brands featured at a weekend pop-up marketplace in Marine Parade. Called the Easty Breezy Bazaar, it coincides with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the estate and ends on Sept 22.
The bazaar is also a heartland rejuvenation project to increase the liveliness of heartland precincts and drive business.
The Our Heartlands 2025 initiative helps heartland merchants grow their revenue, boost their operational efficiency and attract more customers to the heartland. It is developed by Enterprise Singapore to help the merchants stay relevant and competitive.
Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng, who visited the bazaar on Sept 21, said that with about 85 per cent of Singaporeans living in Housing Board flats, it is important to encourage heartland businesses to tap the placemaking grant.
“Our heartland shops will have to up their ante... whether it’s digitalisation, marketing, packaging... you know, just to have new activities to reinvent themselves and really have a better, broader outreach,” said Dr Tan, who is also Second Minister for Trade and Industry and an MP for Marine Parade GRC.
One of the recipients of the grant is Inner Child Creations, a shop in Mei Ling Street which obtained $3,400 in funding to hire three part-time staff and widen its product range.
Co-founder Chng Ying Tong, 32, told The Straits Times at the bazaar: “The crowd has been awesome. We started doing pop-ups only this year, and the people here said they are enjoying the event.”
Her shop’s bestsellers include colourful tokens that can be used in supermarket trolleys in place of one-dollar coins, laser-engraved wooden keychains and stickers.
Inner Child Creations co-founders Chng Ying Tong (right) and Mr Nicholas Chee obtained $3,400 in funding to hire three part-time staff and widen its product range.
“I found out about the grant from The Straits Times when it was announced,” said Ms Chng.
“We will share our experience and knowledge with the other heartland shops in Mei Ling Street so they can benefit from it too.”
Another enterprise that has benefited from the grant is Quan Shui Wet Market, which began in 1968 as Quan Shui Fresh Pork when it was founded by Mr Oh Quan Shui.
Today, it is a third-generation wet market business that offers next-day islandwide delivery of a diverse range of groceries, including fresh pork, organic chicken, seafood and vegetables.
It is now one of Singapore’s largest and fastest-growing online fresh food grocers, serving more than 500 households daily. It also has eight physical stalls, mainly in the west, as well as a modern wet market in Upper Thomson.
Quan Shui’s general manager Neo Jun He, 32, said the grant helped to subsidise his marketing materials like banners and signboards, broaden his outreach and test the market.
“It’s the first time the brand is getting exposure in the east. As we do have plans to eventually have a store in this part of Singapore, the grant gave us the opportunity to gain exposure at a subsidised cost and explore how we can better serve the needs of the residents here,” he said.
Quan Shui’s general manager Neo Jun He said the grant helped to subsidise his marketing materials like banners and signboards, broaden his outreach and test the market.
He will be using the grant to gather about 25 local brands for a Chinese New Year bazaar at his Thomson flagship store in 2025.
Mrs Andrea Chiang, a 49-year-old bank executive and Marine Parade resident, said the bazaar reminded her of a weekend market in Australia.
“I hope to see more of such bazaars,” she said. “We should support these small, local businesses.”
Another Marine Parade resident, Mr Pratyush Prasanna, 43, the chief executive of a financial company, said: “There’s a good variety of local and handmade stuff. This bazaar is a platform to discover and support our local businesses.”
