DBS Foundation Grant to support Social Enterprises and SMEs

They are looking for innovative businesses that help empower vulnerable communities, addressing urgent needs today, towards a brighter tomorrow. If your business is providing food security, shelter, access to basic education and healthcare (including mental health), or fostering financial inclusion for those in need, they invite you to apply.

What they Offer?

• Recognition
  • Be recognised as a purpose-driven business creating a positive impact
• Funding
  • Receive up to SGD 250,000 in grants to scale
• Community
  • Connect to, learn from and be inspired by their strong community of Impact Makers
• Connect
  • Open doors to networking and business opportunities
• Resources
  • Gain access to capacity-building programmes, banking support and integration opportunities with DBS
• Exposure
  • Raise awareness for your business and impact on DBS and other platforms

What can the Grant be used for?

• The DBS Foundation Grant is intended for the scaling and expansion of businesses so as to grow the impact on vulnerable segments of community. The grant purpose should therefore have a clear breakdown on how the funds will help achieve the stated purpose. Poorly substantiated grant requests will be rejected.
• Funds can be used for various growth initiatives, including but not limited to, entering new markets, R&D into new products, enhancing product or service offerings, and building infrastructure required for growth.
• Importantly, the business should demonstrate a clear path to financial sustainability after the grant funding.

Eligibility Criteria

• The DBS Foundation Grant (“Grant”) by DBS Foundation (“DBSF”) is open for applications from social enterprises (“SE”) and small-and medium-sized enterprises (“SME”) registered and operating in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Taiwan (hereinafter referred to as “Applicant”).
• Applicants must meet the following conditions at the time of application and throughout the application process. Only eligible applications will be considered for evaluation.
  • Be registered as a business in at least one of the following markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan,
  • Have at least 2 years of track record in delivering and measuring social impact with vulnerable communities. Focus areas include providing essential needs such as food security, shelter, education and mental health; as well as fostering financial inclusion – for a more inclusive world,
  • Have a proven market traction, as evidenced by strong revenue growth, with clear plans to scale business and impact.
• The Grant does not support non-governmental organisations (NGOs), philanthropy-model charities, religious organisations for religious purposes, general fundraising campaigns, entities on bank caution list, student projects and individual pursuits.
• Applicants registered and operating in India must be able to provide evidence of having obtained approval under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to receive funds from foreign entities. Otherwise, Applicants must prove the following:
  • profitability of the business is dependent solely on sales revenue and not on account of income received by way of grants and/or awards,
  • does not have a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social (“CEERS”) programme,
  • the Grant will not be used towards funding any other persons and/or entities which would need to be registered to obtain FCRA registration or approval.
• SE and SME applicants which have previously received grants from DBS Bank and its affiliates, subsidiaries (“DBS”) and/or DBSF, may apply for the Grant, only if previously awarded grant(s) has expired. Being a former DBSF grantee does not guarantee successful application to future grants. Every application will be assessed independently on its own merits.

For more information, visit DBS.