PSG vs EDG vs CTC: Singapore Grant Decision Tree

Every Singapore SME owner I talk to asks the same question: "Which grant should I apply for?"

And every consultant gives the same useless answer: "It depends."

It does depend — but after advising on 200+ PSG, 100+ EDG, 50+ MRA and 30+ CTC projects (and being a PSG vendor, and running the CTC cycle for my own unionised firm), I can tell you the dependency is not complicated. PSG, EDG, and CTC fund three fundamentally different things. The harder part — the part no consultant publishes — is the unwritten rules that decide whether your EDG proposal even gets read, and the reason CTC is more powerful than its training reputation suggests.

This is the decision tree I run with every owner I advise, including the bits the EnterpriseSG and NTUC websites don't say out loud.

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TL;DR — the 10-second answer

• Buying a tool that exists on the pre-approved vendor list? → PSG (50%, S$30k cap, ~6 weeks)
• Building a custom solution that fits IDP Stage 2 or Stage 3 of your industry? → EDG (50% SME / 30% non-SME, no fixed cap, ~3-6 months)
• Transforming a function with equipment, software, consultancy and training around impacted staff? → CTC (70%, runs to 31 March 2028, S$300M fund)

Most serious AI rollouts touch all three. The sequencing matters — see "When you can stack all three" below.

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The one-line distinction

PSG funds purchases. EDG funds capability builds. CTC funds transformation around staff.

That single sentence answers 80% of the question. The remaining 20% is the unwritten rules underneath each grant — which is what this article is actually about.

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PSG — the purchase grant

One sentence: PSG reimburses you for buying a pre-approved IT solution from a pre-approved vendor.

What PSG is good at

• Off-the-shelf SaaS (accounting software, POS, HR systems, AI chatbots that already exist on the pre-approved vendor list)
• Speed — applications process in ~6 weeks
• Low complexity — you don't write a proposal, you pick a vendor

What PSG is bad at

• Custom work. If the vendor needs to build something new for you, it doesn't fit PSG.
• Anything above S$60k total project cost. The S$30k cap (50% of S$60k) is a hard ceiling.
• Pre-purchase mistakes. If you've already paid the vendor a deposit, you're disqualified.

Who PSG is for

The cafe buying an AI-powered POS. The clinic buying an electronic medical record. The accounting firm buying Xero with an AI bookkeeping add-on. You are not customising anything — you are buying a known product.

PSG application rules are explicit on the EnterpriseSG site. Do not pay a consultant S$5k to fill in a PSG form — the process is literally pick a vendor, fill in the BGP form, wait six weeks. If a consultant is charging that for PSG, walk away.

→ See: /grants/psg

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EDG — the capability grant (and the unwritten rules)

One sentence: EDG co-funds capability-building projects that build internal capability inside Singapore — Core Capabilities, Innovation & Productivity, and software/IT outside the PSG catalogue. EDG does not fund overseas market entry — that's MRA.

What EDG is good at

• Custom software/IT builds where the vendor is writing code specifically for you
• Strategy + execution combined (consultancy + implementation under one Core Capabilities project)
• Business model, process, brand, financial management, human capital, service excellence, productivity uplifts — the standard Core Capabilities pillars

What EDG is bad at

• Speed. Expect 3-6 months from kick-off to letter of award.
• Anything PSG already covers. EDG officers check the PSG catalogue first. If your solution exists in PSG, EDG routes you back. Most owners and most consultants don't know this — they apply for EDG on a tool that PSG already funds, and get rejected.
• Anything mapped to IDP Stage 1. Even if your solution isn't in PSG, if it falls under Stage 1 of your sector's Industry Digital Plan (IMDA's IDP — basic digital adoption like POS, accounting, e-invoicing), EDG most likely will not support it. The government's push is to move SMEs from Stage 1 to Stage 2 baseline. Custom builds need to demonstrate Stage 2 or Stage 3 functionality within your industry's IDP to get strong support.

Who EDG is for

The logistics firm building a custom route-optimisation engine. The professional services firm building proprietary AI tooling. Anyone whose project doesn't fit the PSG catalogue and maps to Stage 2 or Stage 3 of their sector's IDP.

What actually happens after you submit (the bit no consultant tells you)

The first email you receive from your front-line officer often looks like a template rejection. Don't panic. Your officer is usually a junior Assistant Trade Development Partner running an enormous case load — the template is faster for them than reading your full proposal. They send it to push you to clarify, not to reject.

The practical implication: stop spending forty hours building a beautiful pitch deck. At this stage, simplicity wins. What you actually need to demonstrate is:

1. The company can take on the project (cashflow, financial runway)
2. The financial benefit is credible (projected uplift vs. project cost)

A clean two-pager with those two answers beats a 30-slide deck every single time.

→ See: /grants/edg

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CTC — the transformation grant (not just a training grant)

One sentence: CTC funds transformation built around impacted staff, with the highest co-funding ratio in the SME stack.

CTC funds 4 components — not just training

Most owners think CTC = training subsidy. It funds four distinct line items:

1. Equipment — physical hardware required for the transformation
2. Software — including custom software/IT outside the PSG catalogue
3. Consultancy — design and advisory work for the transformation
4. Training — in-house training at S$9/hour per worker, or external course fees

This is why CTC matters more than its training reputation suggests. It's an end-to-end transformation grant where the design centres on the workers being impacted.

What CTC is good at

• 70% subsidy — the highest co-funding ratio of any general SME grant
• S$300 million fund, extended to 31 March 2028 (scaled up at Budget 2025)
• All four cost lines — equipment, software, consultancy, training — under one envelope

What CTC is good at that nobody publishes

The under-discussed reason owners want CTC: the worker outcome is tied to the national average wage increment for the impacted staff. When the transformation lifts wages in line with the national average for that role, the worker side of the case writes itself — which makes the rest of the proposal stronger.

That detail isn't on the e2i website. You only learn it after going through the process.

What CTC is bad at

• Solo founders. You need a workforce, a Company Training Committee, and an NTUC-recognised union or association partner.
• Speed. The process is long. There is no open online application — you don't fill in a form and submit it. You go through a partner who has been through it before. This is exactly why the grant is under-used.

A note on the application process

I've been through CTC formation and the e2i process directly. Because there's no public application portal, the only way most owners learn the path is from someone who has done it. I'm not selling a CTC application service — but on a personal level, if you're considering CTC and want a walk-through of what to expect, send me a message and I'll share what I learned. Full walk-through here: How to form a Company Training Committee in Singapore.

→ See: /grants/ctc

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The decision tree

Answer these three questions in order:

1. Is your project a purchase of an existing product on the PSG vendor list?

• Yes → PSG. Check the vendor directory first. If your vendor is on the list, you're done thinking.
• No → go to question 2.

2. Is your project a custom build that maps to Stage 2 or Stage 3 of your sector's IDP?

• Yes → EDG. Start scoping. Lead with cashflow and financial benefit, not a glossy deck.
• No (your solution is Stage 1 or PSG-covered) → go back to PSG, or rescope upward.

3. Is your project a transformation that impacts staff — needing equipment, software, consultancy or training around the new way of working?

• Yes → CTC. 70% subsidy, four cost lines, but you'll need a partner to walk the process.
• No → reassess what you're actually trying to do.

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When you can stack all three

Most AI rollouts I work on look like this:

1. PSG funds the off-the-shelf tool the team uses daily (the chatbot, the CRM, the AI co-pilot from the vendor catalogue).
2. EDG funds the custom capability built around that tool — the proprietary workflow, the integration into your data, the IDP Stage 2/3 functionality the catalogue doesn't cover.
3. CTC funds the equipment, software, consultancy and training that transforms the impacted team's day-to-day around the new capability.

You don't apply for all three at once. You sequence them:

Sequence	Grant	What you're proving
1	PSG	"Here's the tool we picked from the vendor list."
2	EDG	"Here's the Stage 2/3 capability we're building around it."
3	CTC	"Here's how we're transforming the team to operate it."

The grants pay different agencies (Enterprise Singapore for PSG/EDG, NTUC's e2i for CTC). They don't double-count — but they cover non-overlapping pieces of the same transformation.

If your effective stack is PSG + EDG + CTC, your net out-of-pocket on a S$200k AI transformation can land in the S$60-80k range. That's the real reason this matrix matters.

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What about the others?

PSG, EDG and CTC are the three biggest, but they're not the only grants in this stack:

• MRA — 70% cash subsidy for overseas market entry (this is what EDG is sometimes wrongly assumed to fund). S$100k cap per new market.
• DTDi — 200% tax deduction on overseas expansion costs. Automatic up to S$400k from YA 2027. Stack on top of MRA.
• SFEC — S$10k auto-credit covering 90% of out-of-pocket on training. Expires 30 November 2026. Stack on top of CTC.
• BizAdapt — 70% SME funding for tariff-impacted restructuring.
• CCP — 90% salary support for reskilling mid-career hires. Layers on top of CTC.
• PTRG — S$125k for senior worker (60+) re-employment.
• EEG — 70% SME funding for energy-efficient equipment.

For the full picture, see the Singapore AI Grant Glossary.

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The three most expensive mistakes I see owners make

Mistake 1 — Paying the vendor before applying for PSG

PSG rules are absolute: any payment, deposit, or contract signed before submission disqualifies the entire application. Submit first, then sign.

Mistake 2 — Applying for EDG on something PSG already covers, or that maps to IDP Stage 1

This is the single most common EDG rejection I see — and the most avoidable. Before you scope an EDG proposal, check the PSG catalogue, then check Stage 1 of your sector's IDP. If your solution lives in either, EDG won't fund it. Rescope to Stage 2/3 capability, or fund it through PSG instead.

Mistake 3 — Burning 40 hours on a glossy EDG pitch deck

Your first officer is junior, overloaded, and will send a templated reply before reading anything. A clean two-pager proving cashflow and financial benefit beats a designed deck every time. Save the deck for the second round, if asked.

Mistake 4 (bonus) — Treating CTC as too complex to bother with

There's no open application portal, but the 70% subsidy across four cost lines easily justifies the partner-walked process. Don't write CTC off because it isn't a click-and-submit form. See the CTC formation guide.

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What to do next

1. Run the Grant Matcher tool — 3 minutes, narrows your options based on your actual project.
2. Calculate the savings — Grant Savings Calculator shows you net cost after stacking.
3. Check eligibility — PSG check, EDG check, MRA check.
4. Or just message me directly — I'll tell you which grants apply, in which order, in fifteen minutes. No charge for the conversation.

The grants exist. The S$300M of CTC funding is committed. The PSG vendor list has 593 approved options. The only thing in your way is picking the wrong one and burning six weeks. Don't do that.

— Nick

Frequently Asked Questions

What is singapore grants for smes?

Singapore grants for smes refers to the approach described in this article. Singapore SMEs apply this practically to reduce cost and increase leverage without adding headcount.

Who should consider singapore grants for smes?

Any Singapore SME owner, manager, or operator looking to streamline their business — especially those running PSG, EDG, or NTUC CTC grant-funded projects.

How long does it take to implement?

Most SMEs see meaningful results within 4-8 weeks of a focused implementation. The bottleneck is usually decision-making speed, not technical complexity.