Win your first European customers before you open a European office.

Most companies choose between opening a European office, hiring a sales manager remotely, or signing a distributor. A lower-risk route is to start with one test market and a local commercial partner who sells on your behalf. With Boots on the Ground, a Singapore or Philippine company starts with a market entry scan of the Netherlands, then runs a six-month pilot with a senior partner on the ground, and only scales to more European countries once there are paying customers.

With Boots on the Ground, the Market Entry Scan costs S$9,950 (fixed price, 4–6 weeks). The Pilot Netherlands costs S$7,500 per month for six months, plus a success fee of 5–10% on first-year revenue from customers won. Singapore SMEs may be able to cover up to 70% of qualifying costs through the EDGE grant. Opening your own office usually costs far more, because you pay for an entity, payroll and rent before the first sale.

A fractional country manager is an experienced commercial lead who represents your company in a foreign market part-time, on a contract basis, instead of as a full-time employee. You get local presence, network and sales capacity without the cost and commitment of a local hire or entity.

The Netherlands is English-speaking, internationally oriented and close to Germany, Belgium and the Nordics. Rotterdam and Schiphol make it a logistics hub, and Dutch companies are used to buying from abroad. It is a fast, low-risk place to test European demand.

Not for the scan or the pilot. I work as your representative and you invoice customers from your own company. When volumes justify it, I help you set up an entity, a partnership or a distributor structure.

Yes. Boots on the Ground works with Philippine companies that want customers in the Netherlands and Europe, with a focus on IT and BPO services and food and beverage exports. Jelle de Graad built and ran a team in the Philippines at CC.Talent, which served European clients. The process and contracts are the same as for Singapore companies. The EDGE grant is only available to companies registered in Singapore.

Yes. Ask for a free sample: three researched Dutch target accounts, with the decision makers and the angle I would use to approach them. It shows how I work and gives you a first view of your market, at no cost.

Outreach starts once the target list and the messages are agreed, usually in the first weeks of the pilot. How fast meetings follow depends on your sector and offer. The market entry scan gives you a realistic expectation before the pilot starts, and every two-week report shows where the pipeline stands.

With Navinext Pte. Ltd., registered in Singapore (UEN 202510444W). Boots on the Ground is a Navinext service. You contract with a local company, under Singapore terms, and pay in Singapore dollars.

You do. Contracts are signed by your company, and all contacts, notes and pipeline data are yours.

You pay a percentage of first-year revenue from customers I introduce or close. We record every introduction in a shared deal register, so there is never a discussion about who brought what.

A maximum of four or five. That keeps the time and focus each company needs, and avoids conflicts between competitors.

EDGE replaced the MRA grant on 30 September 2026 and covers expanding overseas, with up to 70% support for SMEs. Enterprise Singapore decides per activity what qualifies, so we check your project together before anything is signed. Projects approved under the MRA before that date continue as approved. There is no comparable scheme in the Philippines that I know of.