All eligible approved costs under the scheme will be shared 50:50 between the beneficiary company and the BDS Fund for first time applications. Cost sharing for repeat applications will be on a graduated basis. This is because such beneficiaries may, after benefiting from the first grant, appreciate the use of such services, and must be willing to pay increasingly more for similar services.

The Fund will pay 50% of the approved eligible costs within the constraint of the grant limits per applicant. The cost sharing contribution of SMEs may be lowered in the case of specialized services (e.g. testing and certification, logistics management and bar coding, supply chain management, subcontracting/outsourcing, international marketing and international financing) that are available through international firms but at prohibitive costs. As equivalent local services become available, the contribution of the beneficiary would be increased. Firms who have benefited from reduced contributions that submit repeat applications for matching grants for similar activities will be expected to meet the full 50% cost sharing contribution.