Everything You Need to Know About Funding Your Mobile App Idea with a Government Grant in Australia

In modern business, a mobile app should be a fundamental element of every growth strategy and service delivery. With grants available across state and federal governments in Australia, there are a number of ways for your business to recoup part or all of your development costs for your next mobile application. We’ve put together a guide as to how you can secure finance for your mobile app idea through a government grant, whether you’re in New South Wales or wider Australia.

Although not necessarily a government grant, the Australian government is currently making legislative changes to make the process of raising finance from the general public (Crowd Sourced Equity Funding) easier and faster for small to medium business startups. CSEF allows mobile app entrepreneurs to raise up to million per year from a large number of individuals in return for equity in their company, making this approach ideal for mobile app development.

Find out more about Crowd Sourced Equity Funding here.

The Research and Development Tax Incentive basically reduces a company’s cost for completing eligible research and business development activities by providing a proportionate tax offset for the project. Depending on a company’s annual turnover, offsets of 43.5% or 38.5% are available.

Find out more about the Research and Development Tax Incentive here, and learn how you can conduct a self-assessment to see if your mobile app development project would be eligible for the program.

For businesses in the Biomedical field, the Biomedical Translation Fund could help fund your next innovation. The BTF is an equity co-investment venture capital program that:

While it’s a highly specific fund, the second point in particular does bode well for apps in the commercial biomedical field. Find out more here.

Delivered by AusIndustry and open to businesses across Australia, the Accelerating Commercialisation Program aims to help accelerate growth of novel processes, products and services.

The grant matches funding of up to $1 million to cover commercialisation costs and also provides:

Mobile apps can power expansive growth, and with dollar matching, this grant provides an enticing platform. Compliant organisations must meet several criteria for eligibility and merit, so check their webpage for a full rundown of the awards, conditions and deadlines.

For new and existing incubator programs, the Australian Government will match funding up to $500,000 to assist with start ups achieving success in the international market. With mobile apps integral to reaching audiences beyond our shores, this grant is an exciting opportunity for the right candidates.

There are two key components where incubators can seek funding, both of which work under a price matching scheme.

More information on this exciting grant scheme can be found here.

The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) is a financial assistance program that provides funding for aspiring and current business exporters. Developed to encourage businesses to grow export markets, the fund reimburses up to 50% of eligible export promotion services above $5000, provided that the total expenses are at least $15,000. If your mobile app project develops and encourages business expansion in international exporting markets, it could be eligible.

Provides up to $20,000 to an organisation for the cost of hiring an expert to help with implementation of advice and strategies related to:

The grant is only open to businesses that have an Entrepreneurs’ Programme Business Evaluation Report or Action Plan, Supplier Chain Facilitation, Growth Plan, or Tourism Partnership Plan. These can be obtained through the Entrepreneurs Program, information on which can be found here. Business Growth grants information is located here.

The Building Partnerships Grant provides grants to business startups that are already generating revenue to accelerate the market adoption process. Developing a mobile app is a key strategy for penetrating a variety of different industry target markets, and the BPG is available in amounts up to $100,000 to cover 35% of a project’s entire cost.

The BPG provides businesses support so they can:

If you’re a startup wanting to grow your market base, find out more about the Building Partnerships Grant here.

For many organisations across Australia, a grant is an opportunity to take your business to the next level. Funding a mobile app can increase your business exposure, scale your sales platform and open up new revenue streams through innovative products and services. If you’ve got an app idea, now is the time to apply for funding.