8 Connect Consulting is not a pre-approved vendor for the SME Go-Digital programme. If you wish to apply for this grant, it will not be applicable for our Award Winning Google Optimised Sitebuilder  FirstSite and the  Omni-Channel eCommerce  that comes with.



We have written to IMDA to explain that our eCommerce solution comes complete with delivery and pick up timing options perfect for use for our SME owners today. In addition, our solution cost just a tenth of what some of the pre-approved providers are charging the SMEs. However, due to time constrains they will not be able to include new providers like us to their list of pre-approved vendors.



So... We have decided to work on our own 100% subsidy

However if you are considering going digital, you can do this today and with 100% subsidy (not 90% not 80%) with 8 Connect Consulting. 



If you are a locally owned (30% local shareholding) company with less than $1million in revenue. We will be providing FirstSite for free to you for the first year. Just start building your website here today with our Award Winning Site builder that comes complete with Omni-Channel eCommerce which allows you to sell on Facebook, Instagram, Google. Don't just sell on your website. Sell EVERYWHERE! And the best part, do it now with 100% cost subsidy! No grant application required. We trust you. Just get start building your website today for free.



The site should be for the business own use and not for client sites if you are charging clients for multiple projects we will need you to pay a fair price for those sites so that others can benefit from this as well. Each business will only apply for 1 main corporate site to be subsidised for the year. Sites will cost just SGD$500/site/yr (SGD$25/mth).



Why and how are you doing this?

Because we believe in #WinningWithYou. 8 Connect Consulting has been in the business of helping businesses do better with the use of technology since 2005. While our Singaporean clients have been recipients of previous IMDA, ESG,  IRAS grant/subsidy programmes past and present like Capability Development Grant (CDG), Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), PIC etc. However, IMDA has replied to us in an email stating that due to time constraints they will not be able to evaluate our solutions in time for consideration as a pre-approved provider for the current grants.



The platform is an easy to use drag and drop site builder complete with eCommerce capabilities. You can DIY everything once you are on the platform. In the rare instance where you require design/copywriting services we will be happy to direct you to some of our partners who can do this for you. However, you will need to pay them for their services. If you would like to become a partner to help others design their websites on our platfrom, please contact us . 



However, in our previous posts , we have mentioned that we have been beneficiaries of support from some of our partners (in this case Amazon) who are contributing to international efforts of helping SMEs through the COVID-19 period. To stand along side our clients and partners during this difficult period, we have made a commitment of to make FirstSite a zero-profit product line in 2020. To this end we are able to support up to about 100 sites at 100% subsidy or 200 sites at 50% subsidy. If you can afford your own site, please do not apply for this subsidy and we can make this available to others.



Since we are already helping some of our international clients (50% subsidy) with this effort, why not make this available to Singaporeans (100% subsidy).



What will this cost next year?  

Next year renewals will cost just SGD$500/year and eCommerce add-on will cost an additional SGD$500/year. As our partners are global multinational companies, we are also signed up to their efforts to subsidize digital solutions for small business owners. We may be able to extend furthur subsidy to this renewal if we are beneficiaries of these subsidies. Unlike the IMDA/ESG grant programme, you will be eligible for all subsidy/support that 8 Connect Consulting subsequently secures, this includes possibly becoming a ESG/IMDA pre-approved provider.

But I only want to take up government grants...

The Digital Resilience Bonus provides additional support to enterprises seeking to uplift their digital capabilities to adapt to safe management practices after the circuit breaker period. For a start, DRB will be targeted at the Food Services and Retail sectors which are more affected by safe distancing requirements in the reopening of the economy. For Retail enterprises, apply by 30 September 2020 to receive up to 90% funding support to set up your business online so that you can start selling your products on e-commerce platforms to local and overseas markets.

If you are a F&B business owner and require assistance in the following areas:

• e-Payment (PayNow Corporate) and e-invoicing
• Accounting and HR/payroll solutions
• Digital Ordering for dining in and takeaways 
• Inventory Management
• e-Commerce, e-Procurement and Food Delivery Platforms
• Data Mining and Analytics

You can visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/programme-listing/smes-go-digital/Digital-Resilience-Bonus for more information.

What if I'm not from the Retail/F&B industry?

FirstSite is not only for the Retail/F&B industry. With 120+ professional designs and thousands of free stock images, almost every small business can benefit from using FirstSite. We have even posted specific features/designs for online Live Event organisers and Educators/Instructors in these 2 posts.



It looks like we'll be in it for a longer period than we thought. It won't hurt to be #COVIDREADY.