Boost for businesses at HDB heartland shops

IN Parliament on Thursday (Mar 2), Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann introduced new measures to “enhance the vibrancy” of Singapore’s HDB heartlands.

The Entrepreneur Scheme will be expanded to help more “innovative” entrepreneurs set up businesses in the heartlands, said Sim.

Under the scheme, first launched in 2018, eligible start-ups will get rental discounts of 10 per cent for their first three-year tenancy and will be allocated more shop space across the neighbourhood.

Other efforts include the Revitalisation of Shops scheme, which provides retailers with co-funding for improvement works at their spaces, and gives more rental discounts and shop allocation for social enterprises and businesses with inclusive hiring practices. These practices must be backed by agency for disability SG Enable, with persons with disabilities and those with special needs accounting for more than 20 per cent of their manpower needs.

HDB will also extend the budget meals requirement for all rental coffeeshops due for renewals from May 2023, where they must provide four meals and two drinks that are considered budget-friendly.

“The budget meal and drink prices will be benchmarked against economically priced food and beverage offerings in nearby neighbourhood coffeeshops,” said Sim. Under the current framework, she noted that operators who successfully tendered for HDB coffeeshops usually provide food options averaging S$3.

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By 2026, all 374 rental coffeeshops will provide “budget meals”, up from the current 72.

A small rental discount of 5 per cent will also be given to these rental coffeeshop operators for a year to help them with these costs, said Sim.