Corporate Venture Launchpad 3.0: EDB’s S$32 Million Push for Corporate-Startup Venture Building

Most conversations about Singapore government grants revolve around SMEs: digitalisation vouchers, productivity solutions, market entry support. A different scheme has just had its funding refreshed, and it is not aimed at SMEs at all. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), not Enterprise Singapore, is putting S$32 million over the next two years into the third edition of its Corporate Venture Launchpad programme, known as CVL 3.0.

CVL is built for a different audience: multinational corporations, large local enterprises, and family-owned conglomerates that want to innovate by building new businesses or partnering with startups, rather than simply upgrading their existing operations. If your company is weighing a new venture out of Singapore, a spun-off business unit, or a more systematic way of working with startups, this scheme deserves a proper look, along with the corporate structuring work that tends to follow a successful application.

This article sets out what CVL 3.0 funds, who is eligible, how it differs from the Enterprise Singapore grants most SME owners already know, and the practical steps to take if you are considering applying, including why the corporate secretarial groundwork matters as much as the application itself.

What Is the Corporate Venture Launchpad, and Why CVL 3.0 Matters

The Corporate Venture Launchpad helps established companies with Singapore-based operations innovate through corporate venturing rather than internal research and development alone. Large organisations often have capital, market access, and distribution, but lack a startup’s speed and risk appetite. CVL closes that gap by pairing corporates with specialist venture partners who know how to build and validate new businesses quickly.

This is the third edition, and each one has grown in scope and funding. The first launched in May 2021 with S$10 million in pilot funding. In July 2022, EDB expanded it with a further S$20 million. CVL 3.0, announced in 2024, adds S$32 million over two years, EDB’s largest commitment yet, and introduces a second pathway alongside venture creation: dedicated support for corporate-startup partnerships.

Since CVL began, EDB has supported 24 companies in launching 14 new ventures headquartered in Singapore, several of which have raised more than S$70 million in follow-on funding. At least ten have gone on to build multiple ventures, part of why EDB keeps scaling the programme up rather than winding it down.

Two Pathways: Venture Creation and Startup Partnerships

CVL 3.0 is organised around two distinct modes of corporate venturing. A company can apply for one or both, provided it can show it has the resources and internal commitment to see either through properly.

Venture Creation

Venture creation, sometimes called corporate venture building, incubates a genuinely new business targeting a revenue opportunity beyond the company’s existing core. Under CVL 3.0, companies work with appointed Venture Studio Partners to validate a concept within a structured six-month sprint, building longer-term internal capability rather than running a one-off project.

A successful sprint ends in a “Go” or “No go” decision, made by the company’s own leadership within a month of the project’s conclusion. A “Go” decision generally means setting up a new business unit inside the existing company, or a new company (a “NewCo”) as a separate legal entity, headquartered in Singapore. Global engineering group IMI plc is one example: after CVL, it established its own IMI Venture Studio in Singapore to keep developing sustainable energy ventures.

Startup Partnerships

The second pathway, new in scope for this edition, helps companies partner more effectively with existing startups rather than build something from scratch. Companies work with appointed Open Innovation Partners to identify startups whose technology or business model can be co-developed into a commercial outcome, such as a jointly developed product, or a piloted solution that improves productivity or cuts costs.

Siemens’ work with local hydroponic farm Artisan Green, using its automation and digitalisation know-how to scale up the farm’s operations, is the example EDB has pointed to publicly. As a programme condition, companies on this pathway are expected to sign pilot agreements with at least two startups, with the option to progress to a full commercial contract.

What CVL 3.0 Actually Funds

Unlike a grant that simply reimburses invoiced costs, CVL 3.0 combines co-funding with hands-on advisory support, set out below.

Two things are worth flagging. First, the co-funding targets professional services and manpower costs tied to the sprint or partnership, not general operating expenses. Second, engaging an appointed partner is not optional, it is how a company accesses the programme’s methodology, talent networks, and EDB’s own advisory bandwidth.

Who Is Eligible, and Who Is Not

CVL 3.0 is built for established companies, not early-stage founders looking for their first round of funding. EDB describes the programme as supporting established, Singapore-based companies that want to enter new markets, test new technologies, try new business models, or create new revenue streams through venturing.

The programme is open to companies new to venture creation or startup partnerships, companies pursuing multiple ventures across different opportunity areas, and companies wanting better internal processes for working with startups. What it is not intended for is venturing that is not meaningfully differentiated from a company’s existing business; EDB assesses every application against that bar.

EDB sets out the full eligibility and application criteria in its Corporate Venture Launchpad FAQ. In practice, the target applicant looks like an MNC regional headquarters, a large Singapore-incorporated group, or a family office or conglomerate exploring diversification, not a two-person startup team. If your company is an early-stage startup seeking funding for your own product, CVL is not the right door; Enterprise Singapore’s Startup SG suite, which we covered in the context of Startup SG Equity’s deep-tech expansion, is the more relevant starting point for founders raising capital and structuring a cap table.

How CVL Differs From Enterprise Singapore’s Grant Suite

It is easy to lump every Singapore government grant into one basket, but CVL sits in a genuinely different lane from the schemes Enterprise Singapore runs for SMEs.

We have written previously about SME-facing schemes such as the Business Adaptation Grant (BizAdapt), aimed squarely at SMEs coping with trade disruption; Enterprise Singapore’s long-standing Enterprise Development Grant is itself being retired and folded into the new EDGE Grant from 30 September 2026. None of that overlaps with CVL 3.0’s mandate. If your company is not an SME, or productivity upgrades are not the goal, CVL is the relevant EDB scheme, not an Enterprise Singapore one.

The First-Come, First-Served Reality

One detail is easy to miss in the excitement over the S$32 million headline: CVL 3.0 runs on a fixed programme budget, allocated first-come, first-served. EDB has stated the programme runs until the budget is drawn down, or for two years, whichever comes first, though it may be extended or topped up depending on demand.

That structure carries two practical implications. Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee funding; once the S$32 million is allocated, later applicants may find nothing left. And speed to a well-prepared application matters more than under an evergreen grant scheme. Companies that spend months debating whether to explore venturing before approaching EDB or an appointed partner risk missing the window entirely.

Practical Next Steps for a Company Considering CVL 3.0

If your leadership team is seriously considering venture building or a structured startup partnership, this sequence is a sensible way to approach it.

1. Clarify which pathway fits your goal. Decide whether you want to build something genuinely new (venture creation) or access external innovation faster (startup partnerships). The pathways differ in partners, deliverables, and resourcing.
2. Check differentiation from your existing business. EDB will not fund venturing that looks like an extension of what your company already does; be ready to articulate why the opportunity is genuinely new.
3. Identify an appropriate appointed partner. Engaging a Venture Studio Partner or Open Innovation Partner is a precondition for support, so approach EDB’s New Ventures team or a shortlist of partners before a formal application.
4. Confirm internal sponsorship and resourcing. A sprint or partnership initiative needs a dedicated internal team and genuine leadership buy-in for the eventual “Go” or “No go” decision, which EDB assesses as part of eligibility.
5. Plan the legal and governance structure early. If a “Go” decision means a new business unit or a separate NewCo, decide in advance how it will be structured, funded, and governed so the move from pilot to operating business is not delayed.
6. Apply directly through EDB. Applications run through EDB’s own channels, not the Business Grants Portal used for most Enterprise Singapore schemes, so the process differs from grants your finance team may already know.

Structuring the Venture: Why a Corporate Secretarial Partner Matters

Winning CVL support is only the beginning. A “Go” decision means the business is headquartered in Singapore, usually a new subsidiary or, where a startup partnership matures into a formal alliance, a joint venture entity with clearly defined shareholding, governance, and IP arrangements. Family offices and conglomerates new to CVL often underestimate the groundwork needed once a venture moves from a sprint to a real operating company.

A few areas where a good corporate secretarial partner earns its keep:

• Incorporating the NewCo correctly with ACRA, with a share structure that reflects the parent’s intended control and any co-investor or venture partner arrangements.
• Drafting shareholders’ agreements for a joint venture entity, where legal advice on structuring a joint venture alongside corporate secretarial support helps on deadlock resolution, IP ownership, and exit mechanics.
• Setting up statutory registers, appointing directors, and meeting ongoing ACRA and IRAS obligations for the new entity from day one.
• Managing the tax and reporting consequences of a new structure, relevant to our note on Pillar Two registration and a Singapore subsidiary’s company secretary if your parent group is a large MNC.
• Keeping proper documentation for grant funds drawn, since government funding carries audit and clawback exposure if deliverables are not met, a risk covered in our guide to grant claims, audit and clawback risk.

None of this needs to slow a venture down if planned alongside the CVL application. Companies that treat structuring as an afterthought lose momentum exactly when speed matters most: the months after a “Go” decision, when the venture must start operating, hiring, and contracting as a real legal entity.

Final Thoughts

CVL 3.0 is a reminder that not every Singapore government incentive is written for SMEs. For MNCs, large local enterprises, and family businesses serious about venture building or deeper startup collaboration, EDB’s S$32 million commitment is a meaningful signal, backed by a fixed, first-come-first-served budget that rewards companies who move early with a well-prepared proposal. For ongoing coverage of grants like this, resources such as Singapore grant updates are worth following, alongside proper business investment planning before you commit management time and capital to a new venture.

If your company is weighing a CVL 3.0 application, or already has EDB’s interest and now needs to structure a new subsidiary or joint venture entity, Raffles Corporate Services can help get the foundations right from the outset.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services