Schemes and Initiatives
Published Date: 13 October 2021

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) Grant

The Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) Grant was launched as part of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme under the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) to promote AIDA adoption and strengthen the ecosystem. It is specifically catered for projects that are focused on AIDA adoption with the objectives to improve decision making and/or generate better insights unlike other MAS grants for Financial Institutions and FinTechs.

The FSTI scheme is valid until March 2026Applications will be approved up to March 2026. Approved projects can run beyond March 2026.

Grant Details

  • The AIDA grant is open to small Singapore-based Financial Institutions (FI)Headcount 200 or less at the point of application, FinTechsFinTechs registered with the Singapore FinTech Association., or Industry Consortiums.
  • The AIDA Grant provides up to 30% co-funding of qualifying expenses, capped at SGD $500,000Qualifying expenses include direct manpower and project-related costs (e.g. professional services, hardware/ software, equipment and IP rights, Capability transfer-related training costs, and external auditor costs). Manpower expenses for non-SCs (including PRs) are funded at up to 15%. Expenses incurred overseas can be supported. Grant caps apply to AIDA Grant funding.  Applicant is responsible for conducting due diligence on their appointed service provider/ vendor/ solution and MAS does not have a list of pre-approved/ recommended of service provider/ vendors/ solutions. to support AIDA projects.

Before You Apply

Application Eligibility 

Applicant Eligibility

  • The grant is only open to Singapore-based Financial Institutions (FI), FinTechs or Industry Consortiums.

Project Eligibility
Project should demonstrate the adoption of AIDA techniques to achieve the following:

  • Project should help to generate richer insights that current processes do not provide; and/ or
  • Project should result in better quality decisions that current processes do not facilitate.
  • For FinTechs: Project should be for integrating AIDA into/ developing AIDA products and services
  • For projects with the potential for revenue generation: (1) AIDA techniques should be relatively novel/advanced (i.e. FIs should be either developing their own methods, or using AIDA methods from other fields/industries and not commonly used in the financial industry, and adapting them to use cases in the financial industry); and (2) be prudent use case focused on responsible deployment (e.g. managing risk, reducing drawdowns) rather than taking on greater risk for higher returns (e.g. taking on margin and trading unregulated assets)
Application Guidelines
Proposal should include:
  • Project objectives
  • Description of AIDA techniques (for example AI, Machine Learning, Predictive/ Prescriptive analytics, Deep Learning/ Neural Networks, Natural Language Processing/ Text Analytics) used to achieve objectives;
  • Expected benefits to the applicant including facilitating strategy formulation, decision making, and insight generation;
  • Outline of FI’s/ FinTech's overall AIDA strategy and how project supports/augments said strategy.
  • Proposal should also demonstrate the impact of AIDA adoption on the local workforce, including:

    • Analysis of the project’s impact on existing workforce in terms of changing the job nature or skills required for the job;
    • Training plan for up-skilling impacted employees including specialized and general AIDA skills;
    • Training plan for re-skilling impacted employees for alternative career pathways;
    • Redeployment plan for displaced workforce, where relevant;
    • Should foreign headcounts be hired to perform project roles, to facilitate capability transfer of AIDA skills and knowledge from foreign specialists/experts to the local workforce

    Expenses that qualify for AIDA Grant funding include (i) Manpower costs; (ii) Hardware/ Software; and (iii) Professional Services.

    • Applicants may develop applications inhouse or use internal resources for the project;
    • Sufficient justification should be provided for expenses incurred outside Singapore and are subject to approval;
    • Applicants are responsible for conducting due diligence on their appointed vendor/ service/ solution provider. MAS does not have a list of pre-approved/ recommended vendors/ service/ solution providers

    After You Apply

    Completed application forms should be submitted 3 months before the commencement of projects to facilitate processing of applications. Applications with incomplete information might experience a delay in processing.

    For successful applicants, you are required to submit the following:

    Project reporting

    • You are required to provide MAS with project status reports. Report should include update on meeting project’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the relevant funding and reporting period;
    • An auditor’s certification (by internal or external auditors) should be submitted with each claim. 

    Note: We will work with you to set project KPIs for each project period that is relating to the implementation of AIDA techniques. All information relating to projects are confidential between MAS and the applicant.

    Workforce KPI Reporting

     

    • Workforce KPIs are determined within six months from project commencement;
    • You will be required to submit proof of training (for example training materials, signed attendance and details of trainees) as part of meeting the workforce KPI requirements.

    Note: Project KPIs will also include workforce KPIs. This include training of impacted employees in terms of up-skilling, re-skilling, or redeploying them, as well as knowledge transfer to the local workforce, if foreign headcounts are engaged.

    Reimbursement of Expenses

    • Reimbursement of funding will only be provided for qualifying expenses directly related to the project, within the funding period and based on the awarded grant amount;
    • Expenses that are not directly related to the project or fall outside the projects scope will not be claimable;
    • Sufficient justification should be provided for expenses incurred outside Singapore;
    • Applicants are responsible for conducting due diligence on their appointed vendor/ service/ solution provider. MAS does not have a list of pre-approved/ recommended vendors/ service/ solution providers;
    • Specifics regarding the claims (e.g. maximum amount for each claim) will be determined during the application process
    • Claims are to be submitted using the claim form template provided by MAS.

    Note: The grant can cover manpower expenses incurred outside of Singapore and should be justified with valid reasons. The grant does not support any expenses related to travel and accommodation.

    AIDA Use Cases

    As technology advances, the use of data to make decisions and improve business functions is becoming more prevalent. Find out how you can adopt AIDA techniques to help you gain an edge:

    Cross-cutting areas

    Regardless of what you do, AIDA techniques can help you in the areas of:

    Business Intelligence

    • Business transformation and business model creation through new insights
    • Analyze data sets to predict performance, forecast returns or collect information to quantify risk and detect anomalies

    Meeting regulatory and reporting requirements

    • Increase monitoring and accuracy of data to detect crimes, identify abnormal behavior and improve processes to meet regulatory requirements

    Data management and governance

    • Process unstructured data for analysis and insights
    • Streamline and automate backend processes

    Cyber Security

    • Detect system intrusions and prevent unauthorized information leaks
    • Monitor status and health of systems/ servers to prompt action if required

    Fraud

    • Flag suspicious transactions and interactions between parties - Analyse large data sets to detect potential cases of phishing/fake accounts
    Banking
    Front-end customer services and Know Your Customer (KYC)
  • Customer profiling to understand their behaviors and demographics
  • Personalize engagement and enhance services
  • Predict client needs and improve profitability
  •  

    Detection of market anomalies

    • Flag irregular price movements of currencies and securities to identify market manipulation
    Insurance
    Marketing and Advisory services
  • Customer profiling to personalize and recommend products based on individual needs
  • Customise product offerings to match clients from different profiles and demographics
  • Smart underwriting

    • Provide AI-based risk modelling for automated underwriting based on client profiles

    Customer support and Claims analysis

    • Automate and improve client reporting process through smart forms
    • Provide on-demand policy servicing/reporting through automated responses
    Financial Advisors
    Financial planning
  • Analyze client profile data to tailor investment products and services based on different demographics
  • Empower clients to engage in independent financial decisions through personalized recommendations
  • Portfolio allocation/ balancing

    • Automate the adjusting of portfolio strategies for clients based on economic changes
    Fund Managers
    Portfolio diversification/ balancing and Portfolio/ product strategy development
  • Analyze macroeconomic data to adapt to changing environments and navigate volatility
  • Investment tracking 

    • Predict correlations and performance of different asset classes to create investment strategies
    • Identify investment drivers in new areas such as environmental, social, governance and sustainable finance
    Securities/ Derivatives Broker
    Marketing/ Customer Profiling
    • Analyze historical customer behavior to aid product development and marketing according to client preferences.

    How to Apply

    Interested parties may further engage MAS to discuss their proposed project ideas at AIDA_Grant@mas.gov.sg . Applicants should submit their applications 3 months before the commencement of the project in Singapore to facilitate project discussions and processing of application.