IMDA Accreditation

As a key contributor to Singapore’s digital transformation and the Digital Economy strategy, the IMDA Accreditation programme has a vital role in growing and nurturing the local ICM technology ecosystem. The programme was launched in July 2014 to:

• Accredit promising and innovative Singapore-based high-growth ICM product companies to establish credentials and position them as qualified contenders to government and large enterprise buyers.
• Provide potential end users with the assurance of the accredited companies’ product core functionalities and ability to deliver.
• Build an innovative technopreneur ecosystem that fosters digital solutions, drives economic growth, inspires the younger generation, and builds more innovative products and tech product companies that can scale overseas.

To improve the quality of cybersecurity products of SMEs in Singapore through the adoption of Common Criteria (CC) certification, IMDA launched a new SecureTech track with CSA under the IMDA Accreditation programme in March 2019. This is part of the efforts to grow the Cybersecurity ecosystem in Singapore and enable IMDA Accredited SecureTech companies to expand internationally through tapping on the track record built in Singapore. Through the SecureTech Track, IMDA and CSA will also encourage and ease the adoption and procurement of IMDA Accredited SecureTech products by government agencies and enterprises. Under this new track, companies are required to obtain CC certification for the product to be accredited.

Companies interested in SecureTech track can find out more on the details of the process in our Guidelines (590.10KB).

To achieve IMDA accreditation, companies have to be evaluated on three aspects: Technical, Financial and Operations, as shown in Figure 1.

Over S$1.5 billion worth of project opportunities were created for accredited and spark companies. To date, over 3,300 projects have been awarded.

The IMDA accreditation process and increased business traction also increase the attractiveness of growth capital investment by changing the risk-reward ratio for investors. To date, more than S$1.1 billion of new growth capital has been invested in our companies during and after accreditation.

A summary of the process for IMDA Accreditation is illustrated in the figure below.

Through the Tech Acceleration Lab, it is envisaged that Singapore-based technology product companies can have a strong foothold in securing projects from the Government-led demand, and pull-through from the initial Proof-of-Concept (PoC) stage to a successful production deployment.

Technology product companies that enable and support the digital transformation of Government Agencies often face challenges with long PoC cycles due to the lack of knowledge of Government security and deployment requirements, as well as limited access to a production-like PoC environment. On the other hand, Government Agencies that are keen to adopt leading-edge technologies also face challenges, for example, the long and tedious process time required in setting up a test environment even for a short-term PoC.

The Tech Acceleration Lab (TAL) is an initiative that aims to accelerate the PoC cycle time and seamlessly transition into a production environment to enable Singapore-based technology product companies to compete in future tenders and generate more lead demand opportunities with Government Agencies. This initiative is a significant step towards supporting digital transformation in Singapore.

Hear more about how one of our portfolio companies has benefitted from the Tech Acceleration Lab.

For clarifications or to find out more details on the programme, please contact accreditation@imda.gov.sg.

One of our strategic partners, the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), is keen to connect with technology SMEs who possess innovative and game-changing ideas that can contribute to Singapore’s defence capabilities. If you are interested, DSTA would like to hear from you.

Press

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• SGX inks MOI with IMDA to create a pathway for IMDA-accredited companies to access capital markets more efficiently for expansion
• Accreditation@IMDA partners with DBS, OCBC and UOB (386.23KB)
• S$20 million in Government Infocomm Project Opportunities Created for Accredited Companies within First Year of Accreditation@IDA Programme (67.77KB)
• Companies under Accreditation@IDA Programme Win Government Contracts (67.35KB)
• First-Ever Accreditation@IDA Goes Live to Grow Singapore-based Tech Start-Ups in a Smart Nation (81.85KB)