The two-part eligibility test
EntrePass is open to all nationalities. Applicants must both have started or intend to start an ACRA private limited company that is venture-backed or owns innovative technology, with at least 30% ownership by the holder, and meet at least one personal/business qualification route below. A registered company older than 12 months at application is assessed under renewal criteria. This is aimed at serial entrepreneurs, high-calibre innovators and experienced investors.
Route 1: funding from a single round
Have raised at least S$100,000 from investors in a single round for any past or current business. Examples of eligible investors include SEEDS Capital, Vertex Ventures, Startup SG Equity partners and internationally renowned venture funds, corporations or business angels. The requirement concerns a qualifying round; merely combining small amounts from unrelated rounds does not reproduce the stated condition.
Route 2: incubator or accelerator support
The business is or will be supported by a government-recognised or internationally renowned incubator or accelerator. MOM gives examples including Startup SG Accelerator and Startup SG Founder partners, Y Combinator, MassChallenge and Alchemist Accelerator. Evidence should establish the support relationship rather than merely membership in an unrelated startup community.
Route 3: having founded and sold a qualifying business
Show that the applicant founded a venture-backed or innovative-technology business and sold it under their management. Founding may be supported by incorporation records or a signed current-management letter; the business plan can establish its qualifying character; a sale-and-purchase agreement naming the applicant can establish the sale. All three elements are required, rather than proof of a sale alone.
Route 4: defensible registered IP
The registered or proposed business holds intellectual property registered with an approved national IP institution. It must provide significant competitive advantage that cannot be easily replicated. Ownership of an ordinary registration with no relevant competitive advantage does not by itself establish the condition.
Route 5: research collaboration
Maintain relevant ongoing collaboration in Singapore with an institute of higher learning or research institution. Examples include ICA-listed higher-learning institutions, A*STAR research institutes and CREATE universities/institutions. The founder must be involved, the work must relate to the business and an institutional contact must verify it. A contract for services is expressly not a research collaboration.
Excluded businesses and ecosystem contributions
Coffee shops, hawker centres and food courts; bars, nightclubs and karaoke; foot reflexology and massage; acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine and herbal dispensing; employment agencies; and geomancy are excluded. Experienced technology founders may separately examine Tech.Pass if they founded or led a sizeable technology company or developed widely adopted products. Successful EntrePass holders are encouraged to host workshops, organise networking or deal-making and mentor startups; Enterprise Singapore may engage or audit them.
Official source
Written independently from official MOM source material.