# Enterprise Singapore

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore. It was formed on April 1, 2018, to support Singapore small and medium enterprise (SMEs) development, upgrade capabilities, innovate, transform, and internationalize. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a trading and startup hub, and continues to be the national standards and accreditation body.

## History

Enterprise Singapore was formed through the merger of International Enterprise Singapore (IE) and SPRING Singapore. It is an integration of IE Singapore and SPRING Singapore’s functions. SPRING Singapore was responsible for helping startups and SMEs in financing, capability and management development, technology, and innovation. It also was the national body for standards and accreditation, responsible for helping companies achieve international standards and conformity requirements.
On February 5, 2018, Singapore's Parliament passed a bill to officiate the new, unified statutory board.

## Responsibilities
### Developing trading cluster

The agency works to attract global commodity traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Singapore is a trading hub of metals and minerals, agricultural commodities, energy, and chemicals.

### Quality and Standards

Enterprise Singapore governs the national standards of Singapore. Through the industry-led Singapore Standards Council, it administers the Singapore Standardization Program, which develops and promotes standards to meet industry needs and government policy objectives. The Council consists of representatives of various stakeholders including industry representatives, professional bodies, trade and consumer associations, academia, and government agencies. It develops consensus-based Standards in Singapore and promotes them to be accepted and adopted by stakeholders.
The agency is also the national accreditation body. Enterprise Singapore manages the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) that looks at developing and managing accreditation schemes to support Singapore’s strategic initiatives such as market access, security, safety, and health. It also manages the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Compliance Program that ensures facilities’ processes and laboratory studies meet international standards. Studies conducted in Singapore under GLP complaint conditions have been accepted in more than 30 OECD(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and non-OECD countries.

### Support for businesses

Enterprise Singapore has different programs for different types of businesses.
* For startups, it partners with incubators, angel investors, and government agencies through the slew of programs managed by Startup SG.
* For small and medium enterprises, it provides assistance through various grants and programs, as well as access to technology and research institutes. It also supports SMEs that expand overseas through tax deductions and grant funds.
* Large corporations receive assistance from Enterprise Singapore. There are programs such as the PACT program where they lead smaller companies in joint projects.

## Internationalization efforts
### Overseas markets

Enterprise Singapore maintains overseas centers in various markets to support the internationalization of Singaporean businesses. There are 36 overseas centers in 21 countries. 9 of those are in China.

### Plug and Play Network

When it launched in 2018, the agency established a Plug and Play Network with nine partners across six countries.
The network offers several services: conducting targeted market research, maintaining a global database for overseas partner matching, facilitating business connections between suppliers and distributors, and assisting with workspace solutions.

### Bilateral Business Forums

Business Forums are organized for delegates and officials of both Singapore and partner countries to discuss business partnership opportunities, domestic opportunities, business trends, and future directions. Thus, far Enterprise Singapore has organized Business Forums with India, Latin America, Bangladesh, Germany, among others.