Are you a female entrepreneur looking to take your business to the next level? In Australia, there are numerous grants available specifically designed to support women in business. These grants can provide the much-needed financial boost and resources to help you achieve your business goals. Here are some of the top female small business grants currently available in Australia.
Grants for Female Entrepreneurs Australia Wide
SPARK Biz Grants – Women in Business
The funding is to be used for activities that will directly contribute to the growth of your profit or impact.
Application Dates:
Round 3 Opens: 01 Aug 2024 Closes: 31 Aug 2024
Round 4 Opens: 01 Nov 2024 Closes: 30 Nov 2024
Funds Available:
- $10,000, awarded to the winner of the public vote
- $5,000, awarded by a panel of judges.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Grant for female business owners – business owner identifies as a female
- The business is located in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore
- The business has been registered for 12 months or more
- You are currently a SPARK member or SPARK alumni (Please note – there is an annual fee to join SPARK – $265 if you use discount code GRANT100).
View the full application guidelines.
Queensland Female Business Grants
The Female Founders Co-Investment Fund
Aims to support eligible innovation driven enterprises (IDEs) founded and led by women to secure new early-stage investment through a capital raise
Application Dates:
The program is open for applications until all funds have been allocated.
Funds Available:
- $50,000 to $200,000 matched at a 1:3 ratio for a raise round led by an eligible investment entity. The organisation must secure a minimum of $150,000 in external investment to be eligible to receive a minimum of $50,000 in grant funding.
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for funding, organisations must:
- be a business headquartered in Queensland (operating and having its head office located in Queensland)
- have an active ABN and be registered for GST
- be majority female owned: have at least 51% of shares held by a woman/women (at least six months before application)
- female led: have at least one primary executive decision-making position held by a woman (at least six months before application) e.g. Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer
- have no more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees
- not be a subsidiary of a group of companies that has more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees in total
not have received investment through previous capital raises totalling more than $500,000.
The organisation should also:
- have an investment plan to approach new eligible investment entities within the next six months OR have already secured an offer of investment from an eligible investment entity
- have a clear innovation focus
- have a product/service beyond proof of concept
- have an established business plan covering the next 12 months
- have a clear runway and growth plan for 12 months
- plan to use the funding to scale their business.
View full application guidelines.
Victoria Female Business Grants
The Alice Anderson Fund
Applications for co-investment are open to local and international investors with promising women-led startups in their pipeline. Investors apply on a founder’s behalf for this opportunity, so we recommend engaging with an angel group or VC Fund to access the fund. You can find a full list of investors over at findingstartups.launchvic.org.
Application Dates:
The next cut off dates are:
25th June 2024
Cut-off dates after Jun 2024 TBC
Funds Available:
The fund co-invests between $50,000 and $300,000 in early-stage deals put forward by investors to increase the funding pool available to Victorian women.
Eligibility Criteria:
The following Investor applicants are eligible to apply to The Alice Anderson Fund:
- An individual Angel investor
- An Angel Network
- ESVLCP (Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships)
- Managed Investment Scheme
- A Family Office
- Interstate and international Individual Angels Investors, Angel Networks, Family Offices, or EarlyStage VC Funds are permitted to apply.
Investor applicants must satisfy the following eligibility criteria:
- Applicants must meet the minimum fiduciary requirements of being a sophisticated investor (as set out in the Corporations Act 2001) or hold an AFS license.
- Applicants must be seeking to invest in Victorian-based women-led startups.
- Applicants must demonstrate that they are completely independent from the founders of the Startup.
View full application guidelines.
WA Female Business Grants
New Industries Fund: X-TEND WA Program
Funded under the New Industries Fund, the X-TEND WA grants program is designed to build capability within our innovation community by funding education programs supporting innovators and investors, as well as encouraging programs and initiatives that particularly focus on regional, Indigenous and female founders.
Application Dates:
The ‘cut-off date’ for round 7 submissions is: 11am (AWST), Friday 30 August 2024. Further ‘cut off dates’ will be announced for the 2025 financial year.
Funds Available:
The fund will co-contribute up to $150,000 per successful application.
Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and/or Australian Company Number (ACN)
- Have the business/organisation’s (including not-for-profits) registered business address in the State of Western Australia; or
- Be an Australian business/organisation not located in the State of Western Australia, that agrees to register a business address in the State of Western Australia
- Be made by a valid legal entity that can enter into a funding agreement with the Western Australian Government
- Be a solvent Western Australian based non-government organisation (business or not-for-profit)
- Put forward a program proposal that aligns with one or two of the streams within the Scope of Activities, as indicated at Item 6 in the guidelines
- Clearly explain how the proposal will contribute to job creation and economic diversification in Western Australian; and
- Include a project plan that includes a timeline, deliverables, a clear and reasonable budget, resources, risks, IP management, stakeholder engagement and how impact/success will be measured
View the full application guidelines.
Applying for female small business grants can be a competitive process, but with the right strategy and approach, you can increase your chances of success. Grant writing in Australia is a comprehensive and time-consuming process. Be sure to thoroughly research each grant program, understand their specific requirements, and tailor your application to meet their criteria. Highlighting your business achievements, innovative ideas, and the impact you intend to make can significantly strengthen your application.
More grants for women are expected to be released in the new financial year – watch this space!