With the news that Commercialisation Australia (CA) is being axed in the 2014 Budget, what happens to businesses that had made an application prior to the freezing of the fund?
According to GrantReady, CA is now closed to new applications. However, if an application was made prior to 21 March 2014, it will be assessed. If the application is deemed to have merit and meets the criteria, then it will be funded.
All businesses that have already been successful in receiving a CA grant will continue to be funded as per their agreement. The Case Managers and Expert Network that were a part of CA, will continue to provide support to companies already receiving CA funding.
But, from here on, businesses seeking funding for commercialisation will need to wait until the details of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Program (EIP) are announced.
As reported earlier, the EIP will replace a range of previous grants programs including:
- Australian Industry Participation
- Commercialisation Australia
- Enterprise Solutions
- Innovation Investment Fund
- Industry Innovation Councils
- Enterprise Connect
- Industry Innovation Precincts
- Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business and Building Innovative Capability
A spokesperson from GrantReady stated that the full details of the EIP is expected to be released on 1 July. The Minister for Industry, Ian MacFarlane has stated that the EIP will include the ‘best parts’ of the previous grants.
It is hoped that the EIP will form a part of a larger government initiative to support innovation, entrepreneurs and the startup industry.
