EFS Loan Singapore — the complete guide for 2026.

The Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS) is a Singapore government programme administered by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG). Under EFS, the government co-shares the default risk of qualifying SME loans with participating financial institutions — allowing banks to lend more readily and at better rates. EFS covers five facility types: Working Capital, Fixed Assets, Trade Finance, Venture Debt, and Mergers & Acquisitions. Most SMEs access the Working Capital and Fixed Assets facilities.

To qualify for an EFS loan, your business must: (1) be registered and operating in Singapore, (2) have at least 30% local shareholding, (3) have annual group turnover of ≤$500 million or ≤200 employees. For young enterprises (incorporated within the past 5 years with at least 1 local employee), the government's risk-share increases from 50% to 70%. Individual directors must not have adverse credit records.

The maximum EFS Working Capital Loan is $500,000 per borrower across all participating financial institutions combined. This is a hard cap — you cannot receive $500K from DBS and another $500K from OCBC simultaneously. If you need working capital above $500K, you would need to supplement with a standard (non-EFS) term loan or alternative lender facility.

EFS loan interest rates are not government-fixed — each participating bank sets its own rate within market norms. In 2026, EFS Working Capital Loans are typically priced at 4.5–7% per annum, depending on your business profile, loan amount, and which bank you approach. EFS Fixed Assets Loans are generally priced similarly. Rates are lower than non-EFS loans because the government risk-share reduces the lender's credit risk.

As of 2026, 16+ financial institutions participate in the EFS programme. Major participants include DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, UOB, Standard Chartered Singapore, Maybank, Citibank, HSBC, RHB Bank, CIMB, Bank of China, ANEXT Bank, and Funding Societies. Different banks have different risk appetites and specialisations — DBS tends to favour established businesses, while ANEXT and Funding Societies are more open to younger or alternative-profile SMEs.

For well-prepared applications submitted through a broker, EFS Working Capital Loan approval typically takes 3–7 business days from a participating bank. ANEXT Bank (digital-only) can approve in 24–72 hours. Incomplete applications — missing financial statements, inconsistent bank statements, or late ACRA filings — can extend this to 2–4 weeks. Submitting to 2–3 banks simultaneously through KAPVOY gives you parallel decisions, so you receive the fastest approval from the most suitable lender.

EFS Working Capital Loan: up to $500,000, used for day-to-day business expenses, payroll, trade payments, and short-term cash flow. Typically unsecured. EFS Fixed Assets Loan: up to $30,000,000, used for the purchase of productive equipment, machinery, industrial vehicles, or factory fitout. The asset being purchased typically serves as collateral. Tenure for Fixed Assets loans can extend to 10–15 years, versus 1–5 years for Working Capital.

Yes. A rejection from one EFS participating bank does not bar you from applying to others under the same scheme — each bank evaluates independently. More importantly, different banks have meaningfully different credit policies. A profile that DBS declines may be approved by ANEXT or Standard Chartered. We specialise in recovery applications and regularly place clients who have been turned down by their primary bank.