The Boosting Female Founders Initiative will provide female founders of startup businesses with government funding to launch and scale their businesses into new domestic and international markets.
The Australian Government has announced an $18 million Boosting Female Founders Initiative which will run over three years from 2020-21 to 2022-23. The first round is now open for Expression of Interest. The grants will be available on a co-contribution basis, in two tiers as follows:
- Tier one – $25,000 to $100,000 ($140,000 if you meet additional requirements)
- Tier two – $100,001 to $400,000 ($480,000 if you meet additional requirements)
The program is part of the Women’s Economic Security Package, which helps to support more Australian women into work and supports Australia’s international obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The program will provide targeted support on a co-contribution basis to help female entrepreneurs overcome the disadvantages they face in getting access to finance and support to grow their startups.
Who is eligible?
- be a female founded (majority owned and led by women) startup
- have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- be registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
- be one of the following entities:
- an entity incorporated in Australia
- an incorporated trustee on behalf of a trust
- an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth)
- a partnership
- a sole trader
Plus in addition to the above – will also need to:
- show evidence that your startup is a female founded (majority owned and led by women), see section 14 of the grant opportunity guidelines for further information on the definition of a female founded business
- provide evidence to support your source of funding (e.g. letter from contributor/s confirming funding amount) (Stage Two applications only)
- provide evidence from your board (or chief executive officer or equivalent if there is no board) that the project is supported, and that you can complete the project and meet the costs of the project not covered by grant funding (e.g. ineligible expenditure see Appendix B of the grant opportunity guidelines) (Stage Two applications only)
To find out more information about the initiative and to download the key documents click this link.
If you would like to discuss the Boosting Female Founders Initiative and how this could assist you, please contact us.
