The Australian Government unveiled the Accelerating Commercialisation Stream, the final part of their $484.2 million Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, on Friday.
The Accelerating Commercialisation Stream aims to support entrepreneurs, researchers, start-ups and businesses in bringing their products and services to the market.
This stream follows Business Management, which is to provide support for business improvement and growth, and Research Connections, which aims to help support small and medium businesses (SMBs) interact with the research sector.
Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane launched the stream on Friday, saying that Australia had some way to go if it was to keep up with global markets.
“Australia has some of the best researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs in the world, but our track record of turning great ideas into commercial products is not as good as it could be, or as good as it should be if we are to keep pace in evolving global markets,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“Accelerating Commercialisation will help innovative Australian businesses to tackle the challenges they come up against in commercialising new ideas, by providing access to the expert advice, experience and networks crucial for attracting investment and getting new ideas into the marketplace.”
Mr Macfarlane said the stream would help “drive business growth” by ensuring “Australia’s wealth of intellectual property resource is effectively commercialised”.
Commercialisation Advisers will be provided to businesses in order to help them through the commercialisation process.
The programme will also see eligible projects apply for financial assistance, with up to $1 million of support available in the form of a matching grant.
“Start-ups and entrepreneurs say that the biggest hurdle can be finding people with the right skills to help to get products market ready, or to successfully demonstrate the market potential of their ideas to investors,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“Accelerating Commercialisation ensures that experts and connections are available to help Australians find the right commercialisation solutions for their new product, process or service.”