Participating businesses must not have had a long-term business engagement (i.e. contracted service engagement) of minimum 1-year duration with any government agencies, government linked companies and statutory bodies before bidding for ring-fenced contract under i-Usahawan.

Any one-off services provided to any of the above organisations will not count as a long-term engagement as long as there is no contract or agreement involved.

The programme is a 3-year engagement with BEDB, which begins as soon as the work with the first awarded contract begins. Should the contract only last for 1 year, the vendor may still participate in other tenders under i-Usahawan until the end of the 3-year period or the end of the most recent ring-fenced contract awarded, whichever comes first.

Successful vendors may continue to bid for other i-Usahawan projects within 3 years of the first awarded contract. Hence, a vendor may have multiple ring-fenced contracts, providing they have the resources to deliver the required services. A vendor may also bid for other tenders that are not ring-fenced under i-Usahawan to expand their portfolio and remain sustainable.