Business Growth Fund Program – Round 6

The Business Growth Fund (BGF) targets high-growth businesses who can accelerate growth, drive Queensland’s economy and employ more Queenslanders. It provides funding for small and medium-sized high-growth businesses to buy highly specialised equipment, enabling them to unlock growth potential, increase production, expand their workforce, and maximise economic returns to move them into the next stage of growth.

Expressions of Interest in Round 6 open at 9am on Wednesday 1 May 2024.

Successfully funded businesses are expected to:

• increase confidence for growth, transitioning from small to medium-sized
• increase productivity, turnover, profit and/or employment by 20%
• improve confidence to automate, scale up, increase market share, diversify and/or exploit exporting opportunities.

Businesses may apply for funding ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 (excluding GST) but if successful, the business must co-contribute at least 40% of the total project costs. The total cost of the project must be more than $83,334 (excluding GST).

If the business is successful, funding given will be paid in three (3) milestone payments:

1. Milestone 1 – 20% – On approval of your application and acceptance of Funding Agreement.
2. Milestone 2 – 40% – On completion and assessment of your compliant 3 month report.
3. Milestone 3 – 40% – On acquittal and assessment at project completion.

Examples of eligible specialised equipment include (but not limited to):

• production equipment to meet otherwise unachievable growth demand, or
• advanced manufacturing or digital equipment and systems, or
• advanced logistics systems and equipment

To be eligible for this grant, your business must have:

• a minimum of 5 employees and maximum of 49 at the time of applying for the grant;
• an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and be registered for GST;
• a registered location of Queensland headquarters (per your Australian Business Register (ABR) record);
• a minimum trading history of five years at the time of applying for the grant;
• a minimum turnover of $500,000 for the last financial year (2022/23);
• competitive opportunities in domestic or international markets;
• experienced two years of high-growth and have clearly defined high-growth and employment opportunities in Queensland;
• not been approved for funding under an earlier BGF round; and
• not been insolvent or have owners/directors that are an undischarged or currently bankrupt;

Your business must maintain this eligibility for the entirety of duration for the grant funded project.

The application process will include the following:

Stage 1 – Complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) application for assessment including the following:

1. Confirm the business meets the eligibility criteria – check here
2. Provide core business and contact information
3. Provide a summary of the project, how it is innovative and how the equipment is highly specialised
4. Provide a description of the high-growth opportunity achievable through implementation of your project; and
5. Confirm your financial contribution.

Stage 2 – If your EOI application is successfully shortlisted, you will be provided a link to submit a full application. You will need to provide the following information in addition to the EOI information:

1. Update (if required) the core business and contact information
2. Provide detail on whether you will need to secure other financial support to fund your co-contribution; and
3. Provide details of your growth over the last two (2) years.

Stage 3 – If your Full Application has been shortlisted, you will be invited to pitch to business experts and the DESBT executive team. This is an imperative stage of the process, providing the opportunity to draw out further merits of the project proposed.

For full information regarding the Business Growth Fund grant and to download key documents, please click here to be directed to the Business Queensland website.

The Expression of Interest (Stage 1) closes at 5pm on Tuesday 14 May 2024.

This stage may be in high demand and can close at any time, so if you are interested in applying for this grant please have your documentation ready prior to the opening date.

 

If you have any queries, or require supporting documentation from our office – please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for a confidential discussion.