The Singapore Government is highly supportive of those industries which could provide citizens with the skills set necessary for ensuring Singapore's competitiveness into the 21^st Century. Lately, this direction would be in IT, as shown by the IT Master Plan in Education and the establishment of the Technopreneurship 21 (or T21) - an initiative involving high-level government and private-sector efforts to prepare and lay the foundation for the successful development of a technopreneurship sector in Singapore.

The government has several institutions tasked to offers assistance schemes to help companies based in Singapore at the various stages of their growth. These institutions are:

• Enterprise Promotion Centres (EPC)
  The EPC is a first-stop business centre offering a holistic approach to enterprise development. Their services range from general promotion and facilitation to specific hands-on assistance: from business communication to business facilitation to multi-disciplinary consultancy and regionalisation. For more information, please tel: 6278 2538, fax: 6278 7518.
• Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) - lead agency spearheading technopreneurship development in Singapore
• Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) - for assistance on product & process development, testing and evaluation.
• Economic Development Board (EDB) - for R&D grants and tax incentives
• International Enterprise Singapore - agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading Singapore's efforts to develop its external economic wing.
• National Computer System (NCS) for assistance on e-commerce issues (NCB is now known as Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore or IDA after its merger with the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore at the end of 1999)

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SPRING operates a phone-based helpdesk to SMEs known as SME First Stop. First Stop integrates the government’s efforts in upgrading and developing the local enterprise sector. It facilitates SMEs’ participation in more than 60 Government Development Assistance Programmes (GDAPs) and provides value-added services to local enterprises seeking information and facilitation on business and operations upgrading.

The key body in charge of forging the correct direction would be the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) under the umbrella of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). It also maintains a web site which, among other things, has a directory to list all those with interest in technopreneurship , namely the technopreneurs themselves, investors, investment bankers, lawyers and those in public relations.

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The range of Government initiatives to assist the private sector move into a more IT reliant environment takes several forms. It would be best if the respective authorities are contacted on the schemes listed for the details and qualifying criteria.

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