SMEs on growth path to get leg up with better funding support

SMALL and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to join the big leagues will get a boost from a plethora of measures unveiled yesterday.

Support will come from existing schemes as well as a new "mezzanine" growth fund, as the government attempts to support financing needs at various stages of a firm's growth.

The first phase of the Co-Investment Programme - launched in 2010 with a provision of $250 million - will run together with a second phase, under which the government will inject another $150 million to match private sector investments. This sum goes into two funds: the SME Co-Investment Fund II that makes direct equity investments, and the SME Mezzanine Growth Fund, a hybrid of debt and equity.