Three major digital funding from the government: Technology Voucher Programme (TVP), The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF), and Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading, and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund)
Facing the rapidly changing business environment in 2021 and the impetus of the new crown epidemic, the network transformation of SMEs is a major trend.
The traditional concept may think that expanding manpower is more efficient than upgrading equipment, and the cost of digital transformation solutions is not affordable for SMEs, which has slowed down the pace of transformation in disguise.
However, transformation is no longer out of reach. If you want to open an online store, automate business processes, or even integrate a retail management system (POS) with a customer management system (CRM), you can all create business advantages by making good use of government funding.
Below, Mexus integrates the three most discussed government funding for SMEs: Technology Voucher Programme (TVP), The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF), and Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading, and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund), to help companies choose the most suitable solution and obtain funding amounts.
Up to HKD 600,000: TVP Technology Voucher
To support enterprises to use technology solutions to improve productivity, upgrade business processes, and assist in business transformation, the TVP Technology Voucher Scheme launched by the Hong Kong government provides eligible enterprises with subsidies up to 75% of the project cost.
TVP has a wide range of funding, including consulting services, custom equipment hardware, software, technology solutions, etc., all can receive funding.
The technology vouchers allow enterprises to receive a total of HK$600,000 in funding for up to 6 projects in a 2:1 matching mode.
According to the literature data of the Legislative Council from 2019 to 2020, there have been more than 3,000 applications for the Technology Voucher Programme (TVP) since its establishment, of which more than 2,300 applications have been approved.
Up to HKD 800,000: The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF)
The EMF SME Marketing Fund aims to encourage SMEs to expand their markets outside Hong Kong and provide subsidies for promotion and export.
Each approved application that includes at least one export promotion activity can be subsidized up to 50% of its related expenses or $100,000, whichever is lower.
EMF may be more flexible. First, there is no limit to the number of times SMEs can apply for the fund, and each enterprise can receive a total funding cap of HKD800,000.
In addition, EMF’s support for marketing promotion is broader, including digital marketing related to keyword search, optimization, the establishment of corporate websites and mobile applications, and even the promotion costs and expenses required to expand overseas markets. within the range.
Up to HKD4 million: Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading, and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund)
The BUD Fund is a special fund for enterprises to develop brands, upgrade and transform and expand the mainland market. It originated from the country’s “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” and encourages SMEs to “go global”.
The plan is further divided into “BUD Special Fund – Mainland Plan” and “BUD Special Fund – Free Trade Agreement Plan”. For each successful enterprise, the cumulative funding ceiling is half of the project cost or a ceiling of HK$4 million.
From the standpoint of SMEs, the BUD special fund may be beneficial to businesses that have production lines and want to cooperate with manufacturers in mainland China. Whether it is investing money to purchase the latest production equipment to improve the supply chain, upgrading and automating the process, or even introducing 3D printing technology is not difficult.
In addition, general marketing expenses can also be financed through the BUD Fund, including live broadcasts of popular e-commerce companies on the mainland, online advertisements, and even web pages, application development, etc.
The above information is for reference only.
