By shakalakaa team · Published 07 October 2026 · Updated 09 October 2026
Last updated October 2026
Who can apply for MATRADE MDG
MATRADE's MDG guideline (effective 1 March 2025) lists SMEs, professional service providers, trade and industry associations, chambers, professional bodies and co-operatives. The applicant must be a MATRADE member and at least 60% Malaysian-owned.
The SME limits are sales up to RM50 million or 200 staff in manufacturing, and up to RM20 million or 75 staff in trading and services.
Not eligible: listed companies and their subsidiaries, companies with turnover above RM500 million, multinationals, government-linked companies or any with government equity, foreign-owned and dormant companies, and companies under one year old.
What the Market Development Grant covers
The grant is a reimbursement: you run the activity, then claim. MDG MATRADE claims are made per activity, each with its own maximum, and all of them count towards the RM300,000 lifetime limit.
| Activity | Maximum claim |
|---|---|
| Trade fair overseas (B2B) | RM25,000 |
| Trade fair in Malaysia (B2B) | RM5,000 |
| Virtual trade fair | RM25,000 overseas, RM5,000 in Malaysia |
| Trade mission run with MATRADE | RM10,000 |
| Overseas retail listing fees | RM20,000 |
| Export certification | 30% of cost, up to RM25,000 |
More detail on the other activities
The guideline also lists the MADANI Digital Trade Platform (up to RM50,000, spread over five years from 2025), trade missions run by other organisers (RM2,000) and overseas conferences (RM2,500). B2C and festival fairs are excluded from the trade fair categories.
Where digital marketing fits, and where it does not
Digital marketing appears in the guideline only inside virtual events: a virtual trade fair can claim items such as a "marketing blast" and "digital marketing tools", and the virtual trade mission line includes digital marketing tools.
General online advertising, such as a Google or Meta campaign aimed at buyers in Singapore, is not listed as a claimable activity. Plan that media spend as your own cost.
Using MDG for a push into Singapore
MATRADE's MDG page and guideline neither name nor exclude Singapore as a market. A common plan pairs a claimable activity, such as a B2B trade fair in Singapore, with a campaign the company funds itself to bring buyers to the stand and follow up after it.
Singapore companies moving the other way use Enterprise Singapore's scheme; see our EDGE grant guide.
How to apply
Applications are made online through the MADANI trade portal (madanitrade.com) since 13 March 2025, within 30 calendar days after the last day of the event. Payment is subject to the availability of government funds.
How we fit
shakalakaa is a marketing agency in Kuala Lumpur. We are not a grant consultant and do not prepare applications or claims for the MATRADE grant; those belong to your company. The campaign around a trade fair or market entry is the part we run, through our performance marketing team.
Sources
Show all 2 sources
- MATRADE — Market Development Grant (MDG): reimbursable grant since 2002; RM300,000 lifetime limit; payment subject to funds; apply on madanitrade.com since 13 March 2025 — https://www.matrade.gov.my/en/export-to-the-world/step-6-financial-assistance/market-development-grant-mdg↗ (opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (verified 2026-10-07)
- MATRADE — MDG Guideline 2025 (as at 27.5.2025, v6, effective 1 March 2025): eligibility (1.3–1.5), exclusions (1.4), application within 30 days (1.6), activity maximums (2.1–2.7) — https://www.matrade.gov.my/index.php?option=com_edocman&task=document.download&id=4↗ (opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab) (verified 2026-10-07)
Published by shakalakaa team · Editorial standards · All resources
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