More subsidised solutions to support working from home for businesses

MR No.: 027/20

Singapore, Friday, 17 April 2020

1. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA”) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) announced today that they have pre-approved remote working solutions that come bundled with laptops, with up to 80% subsidy from the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) till end-2020. This will further help businesses digitalise to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 situation.
2. As part of the Resilience Budget announced by DPM Heng on 26 March 2020, the PSG was enhanced to increase the maximum support level from 70% to 80% till 31 Dec 2020. The scope of pre-approved digital solutions under PSG was expanded to include COVID-19 relevant solutions, such as online collaboration, virtual meetings, queue management and temperature screening.
3. Amidst the recent COVID-19 circuit breaker measures, many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have incorporated telecommuting arrangements to keep staff safe. To better support SMEs in ensuring business continuity during this exceptional period, IMDA and ESG have pre-approved two laptop-bundled remote working solutions by M1 and Singtel, under the SMEs Go Digital programme. As the enhancements to PSG are intended to help businesses through this challenging period, eligible SMEs will receive support for up to three (3) laptops and online collaboration tools (e.g. Office 365) within each package.
4. “COVID-19 and the current circuit breaker measures have shown the importance of technology in helping businesses continue operations and adapt to a fast-changing environment. With the increased PSG support for pre-approved solutions, IMDA aims to make digitalisation even more accessible to companies, and help them tide through this period,” said Ms Jane Lim, Assistant Chief Executive of the Sectoral Transformation Group in the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore.
5. Ms Chew Mok Lee, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, said: “Many SMEs want to assure clients that the same level of support and service will continue even as they adopt remote working arrangements. In this challenging times, SME owners have had to learn very quickly about available tech tools, hardware and software, that can address their business needs and ensure minimal operational disruptions. The support under the PSG aims to ease SMEs’ transition from the office to work-from-home arrangements.”

Call to “Stay Healthy, Go Digital”

6. As part of the “Stay Healthy, Go Digital” initiative, IMDA has been working with SGTech and more than 70 industry partners to provide resources for businesses to manage the COVID-19 situation. This includes a list of digital solutions, learning resources, training programmes and webinars. These resources are available on www.imda.gov.sg/BizGoDigital.

Annex A: Factsheet on Laptop-Bundled Remote Working Solutions

For media enquiries, please contact:

Infocomm Media Development Authority

Jacqueline Cai
Assistant Manager
Communications and Marketing
T: +65 6751 2766
E: Jacqueline_Cai@imda.gov.sg

Chloe Choong
Assistant Director
Communications and Marketing
T: +65 6211 0527
E: Chloe_Choong@imda.gov.sg

Enterprise Singapore

Jessie Ng
Senior Business Partner
Corporate Communications
M: +65 8318 2578
E: Jessie_Ng@enterprisesg.gov.sg

About Enterprise Singapore

Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. We work with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise.

We also support the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups, and build trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards.

Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information.

About the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore's ICM infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission.

For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook IMDAsg and Twitter @IMDAsg.