Entrepreneurs Programme

The key objectives of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme are to:

• deliver practical support and guidance in order to help eligible businesses to achieve specific outcomes
• provide access to experienced facilitators with private sector experience
• co-fund the commercialisation of new products, processes and services
• provide funding to seize growth opportunities in Australia and overseas
• foster innovative collaborations between the private sector and research organisations

There are seven active grant and facilitation opportunities which we have covered in detail below. They are:

1. Growth Roadmap
2. High Growth Accelerator
3. SMART Projects and Supply Chains
4. Growth Grants
5. Accelerating Commercialisation
6. Innovation Connections
7. Strengthening Business*

*You can find more information about the Strengthening Business grant opportunity on the source website linked at the bottom of this page.

Growth Roadmap

The Growth Roadmap service connects your business to an independent facilitator who undertakes a holistic review. The facilitator then helps you to develop a roadmap to achieving increased ability to trade in Australia and/or overseas markets.

This service links with other grants and programs specifically related to growth.

The Growth Roadmap provides:

• a broad review of your business
• a roadmap
• mentor support for up to one year
• the opportunity to apply for funding aligned to your facilitator’s recommendations

This service is for businesses that are seeking assistance to enter new markets, or develop existing markets. Your business must operate in one of the following growth sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• food and agribusiness
• medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
• mining equipment, technology and services
• oil, gas and energy resources

Businesses that provide enabling services to one of the above sectors may also be eligible.

You may be able to access a matched Growth Grant up to a value of $20,000 to action recommendations from this service.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, your business must:

• have an ABN
• be registered for GST
• be able to provide minimum 3 consecutive years’ business activity statements in Australia
• have the intent and opportunity to engage in or increase trade in Australian or overseas markets

The following business types are eligible:

• incorporated companies
• incorporated trustees applying on behalf of a trust

The following types of organisation are not eligible:

• individuals
• partnerships
• trusts (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• commonwealth, state or local government agencies or bodies including government business enterprises

Your business must also meet one of the following:

• already operating in one or more specified growth sectors
• have intent and ability to operate in a specified growth sector
• provide enabling technologies or services to a specified growth sector

Learn more about the Growth Roadmap

Find out more about the Growth Roadmap by reading the program guidelines on the web page: source.

High Growth Accelerator

The High Growth Accelerator service provides access to an independent facilitator to help your business realise a growth opportunity in either the Australian or overseas markets. Your facilitator will assist in developing your plan, and provide guidance as you execute it.

This program is for businesses who have a rapid growth goal or specific opportunity in mind, but need some assistance to achieve it. This program gives you up to two years’ access to an independent facilitator who can guide and mentor you as you develop a plan for, and execute, a specific growth strategy.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, your business must:

• have an ABN
• be registered for GST
• be able to provide minimum 3 consecutive years’ business activity statements in Australia
• have the intent and opportunity to engage in or increase trade in Australian or overseas markets

The following business types are eligible:

• incorporated companies
• incorporated trustees applying on behalf of a trust

The following types of organisation are not eligible:

• individuals
• partnerships
• trusts (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• commonwealth, state or local government agencies or bodies including government business enterprises

Your business must operate in or provide enabling services to one of the following 5 specified sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• food and agribusinesses
• medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
• mining equipment, technology and services
• oil, gas and energy resources

You must also meet one of the following:

• already operating in one or more specified growth sectors
• have intent and ability to operate in a specified growth sector
• provide enabling technologies or services to a specified growth sector

Learn more about the High Growth Accelerator

You can find out more about this grant by reading the guidelines on the Australian Government’s High Growth Accelerator page: source.

SMART Projects and Supply Chains

This service provides access to a national network of skilled facilitators who can help you to increase business capability, or meet the specific needs of a market opportunity, or otherwise improve your business’s performance, and leadership and management capacity.

The SMART Projects and Supply Chains service is for businesses that have both the intent and the opportunity to trade with a purchaser with the goal of improving said trade in Australian and overseas markets.

You may be able to access a matched Growth Grant up to a value of $20,000 to action recommendations from this service.

With this service you get access to skilled growth facilitators who will:

• help you better understand market opportunities and requirements
• identify any capability and skills gaps in your business that may impact your ability to meet requirements or realise opportunities
• help you address those gaps to improve performance and better meet the needs of
  your customers
• prepare a tailored roadmap with strategies to address gaps
• help you implement your roadmap

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, your business must:

• have an ABN
• be registered for GST
• be able to provide minimum 3 consecutive years’ business activity statements in Australia
• have the intent and opportunity to engage in or increase trade in Australian or overseas markets

The following business types are eligible:

• incorporated companies
• incorporated trustees applying on behalf of a trust

The following types of organisation are not eligible:

• individuals
• partnerships
• trusts (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• commonwealth, state or local government agencies or bodies including government business enterprises

Turnover

Your annual turnover or operating expenditure (either current or in the previous two financial years) must be between $1.5 million – $100 million. For businesses in remote/northern Australia: $750,000 – $100 million.

Your business must operate in or provide enabling services to one of the following 5 specified sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• food and agribusinesses
• medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
• mining equipment, technology and services
• oil, gas and energy resources

You must also meet one of the following:

• already operating in one or more specified growth sectors
• have intent and ability to operate in a specified growth sector
• provide enabling technologies or services to a specified growth sector

Learn more about the SMART Projects and Supply Chains program

Read the program guidelines on the Australian Government’s web page to find out more about this grant service: source.

Growth Grants

Growth Grants are available to businesses who have engaged in one of the aforementioned growth services (Growth Roadmap, High Growth Accelerator, or SMART Projects and Supply Chains). These grants let you engage third party expertise to help implement the recommendations in your growth roadmap or plan.

The Growth Grants are for businesses which have received a roadmap or plan with recommendations from one of the aforementioned Entrepreneurs’ Programme services.

You can get funding between $2500 (excl. GST) and $20,000 (excl. GST), covering up to 50% of eligible costs.

You must use the grant to improve the ability and skills of your business to trade. For example, you can engage external experts to help implement recommendations from the roadmap or plan. You can’t use it to fix problems that are part of the normal running of your business.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, your business must have received a completed plan from one of the following services:

• Growth Roadmap
• High Growth Accelerator
• SMART Projects and Supply Chains

Your project must:

• only include eligible activities
• have at least $5000 in total eligible project costs
• not have started

Eligible activities must:

• link to an area of the business as specified in your plan
• give you new abilities to trade in Australia and other countries
• engage services outside of your business

Your business is not eligible if:

• you’ve already got funding for recommendations in the roadmap or plan you’re applying under

The following are not eligible activities:

• business as usual activities
• sales activity
• capital expenditure
• cost of maintaining existing software
• cost of maintaining existing industry certifications
• cost of registering patents and intellectual property

Learn more about the Growth Grants

Read the program guidelines on the Australian Government’s web page for this grant to
find out more: source.

Accelerating Commercialisation Grant

Check out our Accelerating Commercialisation page to learn everything you need to know about this grant opportunity.

Innovation Connections Grant

Grants of up to $100,000 (matched at least dollar for dollar by the company) are available to fund projects with CSIRO, universities and other research organisations.

The Innovation Connections grant helps you to plan, develop and fund collaborations with the research sector. This grant is delivered in two steps: facilitation (step 1) and the grant itself (step 2). You need to complete step one before progressing to step two. This is an ongoing grant opportunity.

Step one: Facilitation

In step one, you get access to a specialist facilitator who will work with you to understand your business’s research needs. This might include:

• discussing strategic research opportunities in new or existing markets
• identifying critical research areas for improving your products, processes and services
• finding ways for your business to work with the research sector

After step one is complete, you will receive a Service Report that outlines your business’s research needs and opportunities.

If your facilitator recommends a collaborative research project, they will connect your business to expertise within the research sector. Your facilitator will also help define a project scope. You can then apply for an Innovation Connections Grant to co-fund the project.

Step two: Innovation Grants

If your facilitator recommends it, you can apply for an Innovation Connections Grant to undertake a research project that addresses the recommendations made in the Service Report.

Research projects must be in collaboration with a Publicly Funded Research Organisation (PFRO) and should develop a new idea with commercial potential. Your facilitator will help you decide which of the 3 available grants will suit your business’s needs:

• Researcher Placement – this grant places a PFRO researcher in your business to work on a specific research project (up to a maximum of $50,000)
• Business Researcher Placement – this grant places a researcher from your business into a PFRO to work on a specific research project (up to a maximum of $50,000)
• Graduate Placement – this grant helps employ a graduate or postgraduate with a relevant degree into your business to work on a specific research project (up to a maximum of $30,000)

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, your business must:

• be a solvent, for-profit, non-tax-exempt company that is registered for GST and incorporated and operating in Australia
• be a company with trading activities that are the majority of its overall activities
• have filed Business Activity Statements showing ongoing trading in at least 3 successive years
• not have received an Innovation Connections Facilitation before

The following types of businesses are eligible:

• Incorporated companies
• Incorporated trustees applying on behalf of a trust

The following types of businesses are not eligible:

• Individuals
• Partnerships
• Trusts (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
• Commonwealth, state or local government agencies or bodies including government business enterprises.

Turnover

• Your annual turnover or operating expenditure (either current or in the previous two financial years) must be between $1.5 million – $100 million.
• For businesses in remote/northern Australia, $750,000 – $100 million.

Sector criteria

Your business must operate in or provide enabling services to one of the following 5 specified sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• food and agribusinesses
• medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
• mining equipment, technology and services
• oil, gas and energy resources

You must also meet one of the following:

• already operating in one or more specified growth sectors
• have intent and ability to operate in a specified growth sector

Your business must:

• have received a Service Report, and apply within 12 months of receiving the report
• be able to fund the total project costs, as the grant is paid after completion of the project
• not use in-kind contributions or funds from other government grants or programmes to cover the project costs
• not have received an Innovation Connections Grant in the last 5 years, unless you have confirmation that you can apply for a supplementary grant

Learn more about the Innovation Connections Grant

You can find out more about the Innovation Connections grant on the Australian Government’s web page: source.