Funding to increase small business innovation, competitiveness and skills were contained in the government’s Industry Statement released in May.
More than $350 million will be allocated to establish Australian Industry Productivity Centres to help SMEs enhance their international competitiveness and access global supply chains. The centres will provide a full suite of services to help companies capitalise on opportunities, assess performance, and solve practical problems through processing and technology improvements.
Another $90.3 million will be spent on the Commercial Ready Plus program over the next ten years to help small businesses market their innovations. The program will provide dollar for dollar support of up to $250,000 to fund research and development, proof of concept and early stage commercialisation.
A new initiative, the $20.1 million Intermediary Access Programme aims to connect SMEs with public researchers and other businesses to help them make the most of new advances in learning and technology to increase their productivity.
The Building Entrepreneurship in Small Business program, which has so far provided $19.9 million funding for almost 100 projects, has also received an allocation under the statement. A further $14.3 million will be poured into the program over the next two financial years. The program funds third-party service providers to deliver skills development, mentoring, succession planning and advisory services to small businesses throughout Australia.
For further details on the Industry Statement visit www.industry.gov.au
