INTERNATIONAL Enterprise Singapore offers the following help with overseas expansion:

BrandPact. A branding programme offered also by Spring. It has four key thrusts:

• Training (seminars and workshops)
• Resources (one-on-one advice and self-help articles)
• Assessment (free online self-assessment kit to check brand health)
• Financial incentives to help with the key strategic costs of branding projects

Design for Internationalisation. It has three thrusts:

• Training (seminars and workshops)
• Resources (one-on-one advice and self-help articles)
• Financial incentives to help with the key strategic costs of project design (research, concept development, product design and communications)

IP for Internationalisation. It has three thrusts:

• Training (seminars and workshops)
• Resources (one-on-one advice and self-help articles)
• Financial incentives to help with the key strategic costs of an IP project (audit, protection strategies, valuation, commercialisation, franchising and licensing)

Manpower. Financial grants:

• International Market Immersion Programme. A market immersion programme to help companies develop their key executives.
• International Business Fellowship Executive Programme. A short market-learning executive programme designed by IE Singapore and hosted at established overseas institutions, aimed at senior management of Singapore-based companies keen to expand overseas.
• Non-Grant based: Human resources tool kit. A free, Web-based diagnostic tool designed to help companies with nascent HR systems identify the areas of HR they should focus on. (Available at www.iesingapore.com - registration required but free)
• International Partners Programme. An initiative that catalyses the formation of international alliances between Singapore-based companies. It facilitates and supports the formation, developmental and go-to-market phases of such alliances.

This article was first published in The Business Times on 17 July 2008.