Up to $20,000 is available through the Business Growth Grants to help businesses hire an expert to help them with business growth.
Business Growth Grants
Business Growth Grants provide financial help for businesses to improve their operations and grow. The grant supports recommendations that improve the abilities and skills of your business.
Background
Business Growth Grants are one of the services of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme. You can use a Business Growth Grant to engage external expertise to help your businesses implement improvements through a:
- business evaluation
- supply chain facilitation
- growth service
- tourism partnership service.
Funding
A Business Growth Grant reimburses businesses, after completion of the project, for up to half of the cost of engaging a consultant, to a maximum of $20,000 (excluding GST), to make business improvements that were recommended in the Activity.
Eligible Activities
Strategic business Issues
- Formulating and implementing business goals, models and strategies
- Supply chain integration and management
- Corporate governance issues (i.e. board structures)
- Developing formal business plans and review of business model
- Developing business development strategies and sales plans
- Developing key performance indicators
- Developing strategic partnerships and collaborations
- Developing product/service commercialisation plans
- Strategic advice on structuring and raising equity and investment
Human Resources Issues
- Human resources and succession planning
- Cultural changes / change management
- Access to specialist skills to develop HR strategies and systems, including induction, performance management, job descriptions, remuneration, retention, skills auditing
- Business (customer) specific leadership training and employee development
- Workforce planning
Internal Systems
- Administrative processes, quality assurance and compliance
- Occupational Health & Safety
- Risk management
- Developing documentation and processes in internationally recognised standards, training staff in meeting these standards
- Scoping, consulting and training to implement a software system, social media/digital strategies, incorporation of ecommerce functionality, and website strategies
Production/ Operational
- Structure and factory lay-out
- Advice on investment in new equipment
- Value stream mapping (process flow)
- Inventory management
- Process improvements (Lean auditing, reducing down time, error reduction)
- Lean principles and practices
- Research and Development planning
- Developing time sheet systems and documentation
- Scoping, consulting, (possibly developing) and training to implement business specific project management software systems
Marketing, Branding and Communication
- Marketing strategies, including branding strategies and social media/digital strategies
- Communication strategies, marketing plans, distribution channel management
- Enhancement of online capabilities for the integration of e-commerce, and Social Media
- Development of branding strategies and development of a brand including a logo where the design process involves concept development, design and layout, finished artwork and project management
- Strategic market research
- Sales team performance and management, customer relationships and retention, and creating a capability to respond to tenders
- Customer support systems including systems to record and action customer feedback
Financial Management Systems
- Scoping, tailoring and training of management accounting systems, including Accounting systems (financial reporting/dashboards, forecasting and cash-flow management, debtor controls and credit management systems)
- Financial modelling in terms of developing the model for use by the business, including scoping, tailoring and training
- Advice on planning, directing, monitoring, organising and controlling financial resources
Exploring New Markets and Market Intelligence
- Identification of new markets, sector analysis and market development
- Industry research and market appraisal (eg identifying contacts, language barriers)
- Competition strategy (i.e. price or quality basis)
- Market research to assist Australian companies develop their international trading/ exporting strategies
- Identification of potential offshore partners or customers
- Support with arranging for companies to visit overseas markets eg establish itinerary
- Export strategy, including compliance with foreign laws and regulations
Environmental Sustainability
- Tailored advice and strategies to support
- Improving sustainability and reducing environmental footprint
- Carbon pollution reduction
- Waste stream identification, management and reduction
- Water and energy efficiency tailored advice and strategies
- Environmental management systems
- Regulatory issues
- Sustainability auditing (including waste, energy, water and environmental footprint)
Product and Service Development
- Strategic Intellectual Property (IP) plans including IP protection methodology and advice and general IP advice regarding differentiation of product design
- Diversification and product/service innovation and development, including testing for market acceptability /product assessment and improvement for non-compliance purposes
- Research and Development planning
Mentoring/ Coaching
- Engagement of an independent and skilled business coach or mentor to build management capability tailored to the needs of the business
Ineligible Activities
The following improvements are considered ordinary every day operations of the business, and are not eligible for the grant:
- fees for services provided by related parties such as companies with common shareholdings or directorship with the customer, individuals, employees or immediate family related to the customer
- salaries for staff or the costs associated with recruitment activities
- in-house running expenses such as standard accounting fees, office expenses
- purchase of plant and equipment or the costs of relocating machinery
- design and printing of sales promotion materials and advertising, including newsletters, brochures and other promotional material
- the cost of trade shows or costs associated with visiting overseas markets and trade events
- the costs of ISO certification or any work in registering domestic or international patents and fees or charges associated with registering intellectual property
- general legal advice or costs associated with estate planning or legal advice associated with this
- creation of Shareholders’ Agreements
- purchasing off-the-shelf software or costs of generic software associated with the administrative functions of the business normally carried out in the normal course of business (e.g. finance, administration, sales, payroll, HR, stock control, project costing etc)
- training or workshops in basic IT skills
- professional development for staff and workforce development
- the development of websites or basic website upgrades
Are you in the right growth sector?
To be able to apply for the Business Growth Grants you must be operating in one or more of the Growth Sectors which are:
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Food and Agribusiness
- Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals
- Mining Equipment, Technology and Services
- Oil, Gas and Energy Resources
- Enabling Technologies (for the 5 above)
Do you earn enough?
To be able to apply for the Business Growth Grants you must have an annual turnover (or operating expenditure) within the current, or one of the last two financial years:
- Between $1.5 million and $100 million or
- Between $750,000 and $100 million for applicants from Remote Australia or Northern Australia.
Timing
Applications open on an ongoing basis.
Recipients
- Minomic International – $22,000.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake exploring new markets and market intelligence activities, and undertake strategic business activities.
- Solution Design Group – $22,000.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake internal systems activities.
- Australian Aluminium Finishing – $15,840.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake production/operational activities.
- WML Consultants – $21,587.50 Grant has been awarded to undertake marketing, branding and communication activities.
- Ambrosia Quality Foods – $19,800.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake marketing, branding and communication activities.
- MICCA Holdings – $19,800.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake mentoring/coaching activities, human resources activities, production/operational activities, and marketing, branding and communication activities.
- INFOACTIV Logistics Solutions – $21,450.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake exploring new markets and market intelligence activities.
- Expo Centric – $21,989.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake strategic business activities.
- Noteg – $20,700.35 Grant has been awarded to undertake marketing, branding and communication activities.
- T W Woods Construction – $22,000.00 Grant has been awarded to undertake strategic business, human resources and internal activities.
More Information
- Customer Guide
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