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Boosting Female Founders Grant – Round 2. Apply now. Closing April 21

The  Boosting Female Founder  Grant -Round 2 is now open. The Government is offering co-funded grants of up to $480,000 for startups that are owned and led by women. Here’s what you need to know and do to apply for the funding.

The key to applying is being aware of its eligibility criteria, the submission process and making sure that your proposal scores highly against the grant’s assessment and merit criteria.

  1. The grants will be available on a co-contribution basis. All eligible applicants can apply for a grant between $25,000 and $400,000. If you meet additional eligibility criteria as detailed in the grant opportunity guidelines
  2. The grant amount will be up to 50% of eligible project costs – unless you can meet additional requirements (see the grant opportunity guidelines for further information).

You are responsible for the remaining eligible project expenditure plus any ineligible expenditure. Contributions to your project must be cash. You are encouraged to seek contributions from private investors and industry partners.

Grant Funding Eligibility

To be eligibleyou must be a female founded (majority owned and led by women) startup and remain that way as defined in the grant opportunity guidelines.

You must also have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be one of the following entities:

  • an entity incorporated in Australia
  • a partnership
  • a sole trader.

Where you are applying for greater than 50% grant percentage (up to 70%), you must provide evidence to support that one or more of the following applies:

  • your head office is located in a regional area
  • your business is an Indigenous business or at least one of your founding team members is an Indigenous Australian
  • at least one of your founding team members (owners and leaders) is a person with a disability
  • at least one of your founding team members (owners and leaders) has migrated to Australia as a refugee or humanitarian entrant. 

Applying- Two-step application process

How to apply?

You should read the grant opportunity guidelines before you apply. 

To apply, you must submit your application through the online portal.

There is a Two-step application process

Step 1. Expression of Interest (EOI)

First, the applicant company needs to complete the online EOI form, which is a shorter and less intensive version of the main application. Key elements of the main application process such as outlining project milestones, putting a comprehensive project budget together and providing a full-fledged business plan are not requirements of the EOI process.

EOIs are reviewed by the program committee, and those who are deemed to be genuine grant candidates are shortlisted and invited to submit the main, more intensive application. The committee then reviews all of the main applications submitted and makes recommendations to the program delegate.

If you are successful in the EOI stage and are invited to apply for

Step 2.  Invite only Application 

You must also provide:

  • evidence to support your source of funding (e.g. letter from contributor/s confirming funding amount)
  • a pitch deck (PDF or PowerPoint presentation max 10 slides) and/or link to a video pitch from your CEO (no longer than 5 mins) supporting your response to the assessment criteria
  • business financial documents including your most current profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements
  • a business plan, including revenue model, customer acquisition and company/management structure, scope, implementation methodology, timeframes, budget, risks and how you will measure the success of the project
  • a trust deed (where applicable).

The three assessment/merit criteria

Of the 2,200 submissions received in the Government’s first round of this funding scheme only 51 businesses were funded – so preparing a strong and detailed and compelling application is critical.

To prepare a strong EOI and subsequent main submission, the applicant business needs to score as highly as possible against the follow three merit criteria of this grant program:

1.Expansion opportunity

The first criterion, which is worth 40 points (out of 100), requires the applicant to describe how the grant funds will enable them to “scale-up and expand” into additional markets, allowing the business to become self-sufficient.

To score highly against this one, you should provide a  clear narrative around the growth opportunities of the proposed project. For example

  • including the number of new employees that the funding will allow you to bring on
  • provide evidence of product or service interest from new markets (both locally and internationally)
  • outline the revenue increases expected to result from the grant
2.Track record

Assessment criterion number two is worth 30 points and is all about demonstrating track record, capability and capacity to deliver the proposed project.

Put forward a compelling argument about the business’s governance structure and advisory board, outlining the skillsets that your team possesses that align with the project, and how it plans on addressing any personnel gaps.

3.Grant impact

Finally, criterion three, which is also worth 30 points, looks at grant impact and where the business intends on obtaining matched funding from.
When dealing with co-funded grants, the Government often looks for applicants that leverage off investment from strategic partners to come up with the matched funds,

Finally application details should reflect the grant amount sought. The more funding sought the more detail and support is required in your application. 

Good luck and get started  on your application. Applications close April 21st 2021

For further information on the  Boosting Female Founders Grant visit the small business website.

For more  small business links , resources and news and tips visit cubebookkeeping.com.a

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