Eligible firms can get at most HK$ 4,000,000 on a one-to-one matching basis under Mainland Programme and FTA Programme of the BUD Fund. The fund aims at helping Hong Kong companies to brand, upgrade and promote. The hardest part of the BUD application is to write the proposal. Now here BizMagnet BUD consultant introduces 5 important points to write a good BUD Proposal. If you need a help, please contact BizMagnet.
Deliverable effectiveness
Every buck of the public money counts, therefore a BUD proposal must show clearly how effective the measures are. Some applicants just use empty words giving no meaningful idea at all. For example, they will say the measure “boost competitiveness” or “enhance efficiency” and so on. This is totally insufficient to persuade the BUD office. We expect some concrete effectiveness, for instance, how many percent we expect the sales increase, what costs we can reduce or which new market sectors we can engage etc. Don’t chant slogans only.
Focus on specific markets
The BUD Fund is a region-specific grant, it is not appropriate for applicants to propose general measures without mentioning why it targets on the specific markets. For example, a manufacturer exports mainly to the United States is going to apply to upgrade the machinery. Because the US is not a FTA economy, the application must show clearly how the upgrade is specific for the BUD Fund targeting markets. i.e. the upgrade will not benefit the export to the US. Even there is a possibility to benefit the US export, the BUD Office may reject the application.
Buffer in BUD budget
According to the BUD application guideline, there are a percentage or amount upper limit for most items. Some applicants have a very marginal budget setting, for example, machine purchase takes 69.8% of the budget (the upper limit is 70%). If the BUD Office advises to adjust the budget, this particular item may overflow and leads to application failure. A good BUD budget must reserve buffer for adjustment.
Supporting for all claims
All claims for government fund application must be true. The Authority has the right to request for supporting to any claims in the application. For example, an applicant claims to own a distribution right of a brand in mainland China to be a brand agency in the Greater Bay Area. The BUD Office must ask for the complete agency agreement to proceed. Another example, an applicant claims to have an annual turnover around $100 million, the Authority may request for bank statements or tax files to show the authenticity.
Simple words
It is a mystery that lengthy paragraphs are good for government fund application. Actually the Authority needs a factual explanation. A BUD proposal fulfilling the guideline and informative is good enough to help the Authority understand why the application is reasonable. Reasonable application must be approved. Don’t get it wrong, less is more.
A BUD proposal is different from a general business proposal. You should focus on the vetting to present the idea clearly. Don’t try to pitch the Authority, which is a common mistake by newbies.
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