Startup SG Founder, Tech and Equity tracks — Complete 2026 guide

The Startup SG Founder, Tech and Equity tracks are three distinct funding routes for early-stage Singapore companies. Founder supports first-time entrepreneurs with mentorship and a start-up capital grant; Tech funds the technical de-risking of deep-tech ideas; and Equity brings government co-investment alongside private investors. Together they cover a venture from idea to scale-up.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.

How the Startup SG Founder, Tech and Equity tracks differ

The three tracks are sequential as well as separate. A founder with little more than a team and a plan usually starts with Founder. A venture with a credible technology that still needs proof starts with Tech. A company with traction and a private lead investor uses Equity. Each is administered within the Startup SG umbrella by Enterprise Singapore and its delivery partners, and each has its own gatekeeper, mentor partners for Founder, evaluation panels for Tech, and co-investment partners for Equity.

Startup SG Founder

Founder pairs first-time entrepreneurs with an Accredited Mentor Partner (AMP) and provides a start-up capital grant on a co-matching basis. In recent cycles the grant has been around S$50,000, with the founder required to put in a matching co-contribution (commonly S$10,000), and the AMP providing mentorship and guidance through the early months. Eligibility leans towards Singaporean and Permanent Resident founders who have not previously received the grant.

Startup SG Tech

Tech funds proof-of-concept and proof-of-value work for proprietary technology with strong commercial potential. The two tiers, in indicative terms, are:

  • Proof of Concept (POC): grants historically up to around S$250,000 to test technical and scientific viability.
  • Proof of Value (POV): grants historically up to around S$500,000 for later-stage development towards commercialisation.
  • Focus sectors include advanced manufacturing, health and biomedical, digital and pervasive computing, and the green economy.

Deep-tech and digital ventures often interact with capability programmes run by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and larger investment-led plays may engage the Economic Development Board.

Startup SG Equity

Equity is a co-investment mechanism: the government, through its appointed investment arm, invests alongside qualified third-party investors in eligible Singapore-based start-ups, sharing risk to crowd in private capital. Because it involves issuing shares to new investors, founders must mind their cap table and dilution. Issuing or allotting shares engages Section 161 of the Companies Act 1967, under which directors generally need prior shareholder authority to allot shares. Structuring employee and investor equity cleanly from the outset avoids painful clean-ups later, an area our partners explain in their guide to employee incentive schemes, ESOPs and phantom equity.

Numbers and timelines at a glance

  • Founder grant: around S$50,000 with a founder co-contribution (confirm current quantum with Enterprise Singapore).
  • Tech POC: up to ~S$250,000; Tech POV: up to ~S$500,000.
  • Equity: government co-investment alongside qualified investors, subject to investment-ratio caps that change by company stage.
  • Assessment time: weeks for Founder via an AMP; longer for Tech and Equity given technical and investment due diligence.

Funding, tax and giving back

Founders planning their finances should map grant funding against their tax position and any corporate philanthropy; for example, approved donations attract an enhanced deduction, as our partners explain in their guide to approved donations and the 250% tax deduction under Section 37(3) of the Income Tax Act 1947. Enterprise Singapore, which administers Startup SG under the Enterprise Singapore Board Act 2018, publishes the live parameters at enterprisesg.gov.sg.

Hiring early

Grant-funded growth usually means headcount. Foreign technical hires often need an S Pass or Employment Pass, so budget for the current salary bands set out in our employment colleagues’ complete Singapore S Pass guide before you commit grant milestones to a hiring plan.

Sequencing the three tracks as you scale

The tracks are most powerful when used in order. A first-time founder typically begins with Founder, using the start-up capital grant and an Accredited Mentor Partner to get from idea to a minimum viable product and first customers. Once the venture has proprietary technology that still needs de-risking, it graduates to Tech, where a proof-of-concept grant funds the technical validation and a later proof-of-value grant supports the push towards commercialisation. By the time the company has traction and a credible private lead investor, Equity becomes relevant, with the government co-investing alongside that investor to crowd in capital.

Thinking about this sequence early shapes better decisions. Founders who keep clean financial records, a tidy capitalisation table and clear milestone documentation from the Founder stage find each subsequent application smoother, because Tech and Equity both demand evidence of progress and governance. Conversely, ventures that improvise their early equity arrangements often spend time and legal fees cleaning up the cap table before an Equity co-investment can proceed. Treat the three tracks as a funded growth path, not a menu of unrelated grants.

Common mistakes and gotchas

  • Picking the wrong track. Applying to Tech with no proprietary technology, or to Equity with no lead investor, wastes a cycle.
  • Messy cap tables. Informal early equity promises complicate later Equity co-investment.
  • Underestimating co-contribution. Founder requires real founder money in; budget for it.
  • Weak milestones. Tech grants disburse against deliverables, so vague POC goals slow funding.

FAQs

Can I use more than one track? Yes. Ventures often progress from Founder to Tech to Equity as they mature, though each application stands on its own criteria.

Do I need to be a Singapore Citizen? Founder leans towards Citizens and PRs. Tech and Equity focus on Singapore-based companies and may be open to a broader founder base; confirm the current rules.

Is the Founder grant repayable? It is a grant, not a loan, but it is conditional on meeting the mentorship and milestone requirements set with your Accredited Mentor Partner.

Does taking Equity co-investment dilute me? Yes, because new shares are issued. Plan the cap table and obtain the shareholder authority that Section 161 of the Companies Act 1967 contemplates.

Where do I start? For Founder, approach an Accredited Mentor Partner; for Tech and Equity, engage Enterprise Singapore and its partners directly.

Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.