SME Marketing Fund

The “SME Marketing Fund” (hereinafter referred to as the “Fund”) aims to provide subsidies to SMEs to encourage SMEs to participate in export promotion activities to help them expand their overseas markets in Hong Kong.

The company must have been registered in Hong Kong in accordance with the Business Registration Ordinance (Chapter 310 of the Laws of Hong Kong).
Enterprises must meet the government’s defined definition of small and medium-sized enterprises, that is, if they are engaged in manufacturing and employ less than 100 people in Hong Kong²; and if engaged in non-manufacturing and employ less than 50 people in Hong Kong .
When applying for the fund, the company must have substantial business operations in Hong Kong. Shell companies or companies engaged in main business operations outside Hong Kong will not be deemed to have substantive business operations in Hong Kong³.
If the company has previously received funding from the fund, the cumulative funding amount received cannot exceed the cumulative funding limit set by the fund. Applicant companies with similar business registration information (such as business nature, address, contact number, shareholders/directors) will be regarded as connected companies. For the calculation of the cumulative funding ceiling, these related companies will be regarded as a single company, that is, the cumulative funding received by these related companies will be combined and cannot exceed the cumulative funding ceiling.
The company is not the sponsor/co-organizer/service provider or company connected with the sponsor/co-organizer/service provider of the export promotion activity involved in the application.

The funding provided by the fund allows SMEs to participate in the following export promotion activities to promote their products and/or services, and these export promotion activities or activity platforms must be sponsored by well-established organizations ⁴ or Operation:

Exhibitions/exhibitions outside Hong Kong.
Hong Kong overseas business investigation group.
Local fairs/exhibitions with markets outside Hong Kong as the main target (for detailed requirements, please click here Place).
Publish advertisements in print trade publications that target markets outside Hong Kong.
Use electronic platforms/media to conduct export promotion activities targeting markets outside Hong Kong, such as advertising, keyword search, uploading product information, establishing or optimizing online stores, etc.
Create or optimize company websites/mobile apps owned by applicant companies and targeted at markets outside Hong Kong for export promotion.

Each application can only include related expenses for participating in one export promotion activity, and the maximum amount of subsidy is 50% of the total approved expenses paid by the applicant company for the relevant activity or 100,000 yuan, whichever is lower.

There is no limit to the number of times an enterprise can apply for fund grants, but the cumulative amount of funding received by each enterprise is capped at 800,000 yuan.

The company must be on the end of the participating trade fairs/exhibitions or trade missions, the publication day of the printed trade publications for advertisements, the end of the relevant contracts for export promotion activities conducted on the electronic platform/media, or establish/optimize the company owned by the applicant company Within 60 calendar days after the completion of the relevant project of the website/mobile application, the funding application shall be sent to the “SME Marketing Fund” Section of the Trade and Industry Department by post or in person. Applicants must ensure that their applications are accepted by the Department of Industry and Trade within the specified deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. If the application is submitted by post, the applicant enterprise should take into account the risks and time involved in the post. Regardless of whether the relevant export promotion activities are held in Hong Kong, the Trade and Industry Department only calculates the time limit based on the Hong Kong calendar. If the application deadline is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the applicant company must ensure that the application submitted by it is accepted by the Industry and Trade Department one working day before the deadline, otherwise the application will be regarded as an overdue application.

The completed application form.
A copy of the valid business registration certificate of the applicant company.
i) For an unlimited company: a certified copy or an electronic extract copy of the application enterprise information in the business register must be issued within the last two years;
ii) For limited companies: a full copy of the most recent Companies Registry Annual Return (Form NAR1) or Incorporation Form (Company Limited) (Form NNC1) of the applicant company.
A copy of the valid Hong Kong ID card or passport of the person signing the application form on behalf of the applicant company.
Pay the original receipts and a copy of the expenses declared for subsidies, as well as copies of relevant invoices, quotations, contracts, etc. ( Must be able to display the detailed contact information of the issuing organization), and the name of the payer and the name of the applicant must be exactly the same on the receipt.

SME Marketing Fund