New Industries Fund: Innovation Booster Grant in Australia

The Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) is a competitive Western Australian government grant, funded through the $25.8 million New Industries Fund which sits under the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI).

The Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) is a competitive funding grant, designed to provide WA-based startups and small businesses with the financial boost needed to access professional skills, services or knowledge, to advance their innovative idea, project or commercial activity in Western Australia.

The WA Government recognises that innovative startups and small businesses have great ideas, but taking these ideas and turning them into new and sustainable business opportunities with real commercial outcomes can be difficult.

The program is designed to assist innovators to overcome some of the barriers on the path to commercialisation. It aims to build new relationships between innovators, research providers and specialist commercialisation support services, or to move tentative collaborations into a productive relationship.

Purpose of the Grant

• The purpose of the IBG is to assist WA-based founders and teams that are:
  • Developing or enhancing products or services that are commercially ready, or to reach a commercial ready stage;
  • Building a minimum viable product (MVP), one that could then be tested with trial or paying customers;
  • Developing prototypes, processes or systems that might attract additional investment and/or customers;
  • Buying-in specialist consultancy services to assist with IP, marketing or commercialisation support; and/or
  • Addressing a specific technical problem that the business cannot solve themselves, or for which the solution is not readily available.
  • Creating jobs, developing new industries and assisting in the diversification of the WA economy, as per the Diversify WA framework.
• Please note:
  • If your project has previously raised significant capital, it is unlikely to be awarded an IBG. You have to argue why you NEED funding, and why the State Government should fund you.
  • Other grants are also available from JTSI, and other state government agencies, and from local and federal government, which can be used to commercialise innovative projects. These grants may be more appropriate.

Funding Information

• Doubling the maximum grant amount to $40,000 to increase the impact of each grant.
• Allowing recipients to invoice for 75% of the grant upfront, rather than coming up with the money themselves upfront, and allowing them to claim the remaining 25% of it back afterwards. This improves cash flow for recipients.
• Allowing recipients to use internal resources to complete their project for some expenditure, rather than requiring them to use an external third-party service provider.

Criteria

• WA-based startups and small businesses.
• Outcome: Commercialisation of early-stage innovative projects.

For more information, visit Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI).