The new Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme will be launched to encourage more small and medium-sized enterprises to conduct research and development activities and develop innovative ideas.

Under the new programme, application criteria will be relaxed, allowing companies with less than 100 employees to apply. Previously only companies with less than 20 employees could apply.

The programme is one of the four funding programmes set up in 1999 under the Innovation & Technology Fund with an allocation of $5 billion. So far more than 260 companies have benefited from the scheme with funding support of more than $270 million.