The BFF Initiative (or program) commenced in 2020 to support women entrepreneurs to help grow and scale their startups into domestic and global markets by providing access to early stage capital.

What is the funding for?

The BFF Initiative was recently expanded, providing additional funding for grants and introducing a new mentoring element to further support women entrepreneurs grow their startups.

Approximately $11.6 million in grant funding is available for Round 2.

The program provides grants of between $25,000 and $400,000 on a co-contribution basis to successful applicants and is open to startups that are majority owned and led by women. Additional support is available to underrepresented groups such as women founders who:

• are from regional or remote locations
• identify as an Indigenous Australian
• migrated to Australia as a refugee or humanitarian entrant
• are a person with a disability

 

Eligibility – who can access this grant?

To be eligible you must be a female founded (majority owned and led by women) startup as defined in the grant opportunity guidelines.

You must also have an Australian Business Number (ABN) and be one of the following entities:

• an entity incorporated in Australia
• a partnership
• a sole trader.

We can only accept applications where you:

• provide a signed declaration, on the template provided, that your startup is female founded (majority owned and led by women)
• certify that your startup will remain majority owned and led by women for the duration of the grant (this will be a requirement of the grant agreement)
• include all mandatory attachments.

Where you are applying for greater than 50% grant percentage (up to 70%), you must provide evidence to support that one or more of the following applies:

• your head office is located in a regional area
• your business is an Indigenous business or at least one of your founding team members is an Indigenous Australian
• at least one of your founding team members (owners and leaders) is a person with a disability
• at least one of your founding team members (owners and leaders) has migrated to Australia as a refugee or humanitarian entrant.

If you are successful in the EOI stage and are invited to apply for Stage Two, you must also provide:

• evidence to support your source of funding (e.g. letter from contributor/s confirming funding amount)
• a pitch deck (PDF or PowerPoint presentation max 10 slides) and/or link to a video pitch from your CEO (no longer than 5 mins) supporting your response to the assessment criteria
• business financial documents including your most current profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements
• a business plan, including revenue model, customer acquisition and company/management structure, scope, implementation methodology, timeframes, budget, risks and how you will measure the success of the project
• a trust deed (where applicable).

How do I apply?

Applications form on Business.gov.au:  Apply here

Close date: 22 Apr 2021 05:00 PM AEST.

Assessment Criteria

The Boosting Female Founders Initiative program application process is comprised of two stages. The first stage is an expression of interest (EOI) and Stage Two is by invite only, and requires a more detailed application.

Expression of Interest stage

Assessment Criteria I

1. How a grant will help you to scale-up, expand into domestic and global markets, and become self-sufficient (40 points)

Tell us:

1. how grant funding will assist in removing barriers and help you to grow your startup
2. what growth looks like for your business (e.g. in terms of revenue, employees, etc.)
3. how ready your product or service is to take to market (expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or above).

2. Your capacity, capability and resources to grow (30 points)

Tell us:

1. about you and your team
2. if you have received any investment from external sources (including how much and the funding source). If not, why not?
3. if you receive any non-financial assistance (e.g. mentoring, access to networks, advice or other guidance, etc.) If not, why not?

3. The impact of grant funding (30 points)

Tell us:

1. how much grant funding you require and how you propose to fund your contribution
2. how the grant will help you to leverage additional partnerships or support from other organisations.

Grant Application Stage Two

If invited to submit an application under Stage Two, you must address the following assessment criteria in your grant application. These require more detail than provided in your EOI and you will be asked to provide evidence to support your answers.

Assessment Criteria II

1. How grant funding will help you to overcome disadvantages to scale up, expand into domestic and global markets and become self-sufficient (40 points)

You should demonstrate this by identifying:

1. how grant funding will be used to support and grow your startup
2. how grant funding will enable your startup to develop, scale-up, and expand into domestic and global markets
3. how grant funding will assist in removing challenges and barriers faced by you, as a woman, in growing your startup.

2. Your capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (30 points)

You should demonstrate this by identifying:

1. your and/or your team’s qualifications, experience or track record in startups and managing large or complex projects
2. your business plan, including:
   • your revenue model
   • your addressable market and profile of your ideal customers
   • your customer acquisition strategy
   • your company’s organisational structure
   • the rationale and scope of the project or activity for which you are requesting funding
   • project timeframes and budget
   • budget
   • risks
   • expected outcomes
   • how you will measure the success of the project
3. your plan to finance growth. What is your plan to seek additional or follow on investment, or to build a sustainable self-funding business?

3. The impact of grant funding (30 points)

You should demonstrate this by identifying:

1. your need for funding, i.e. the extent that you need this grant to achieve your projected growth (you must have a genuine need for funding)
2. how your project leverages additional partnerships or support from other organisations
3. the benefits to Australia, your region and/or community from your project.

About Treadstone

We provide expert advice and deliver professional grant applications. Allow us to manage this aspect of your business while you stay focussed on your core business.

To see if you may be eligible for R&D Tax Incentive, Export Market Development Grants (EMDG), or Innovation grants please follow the links below:

• EMDG
• R&D
• Innovation

Treadstone is an experienced, outcome focused business with a proven track record of success since 2008.

Call us to find out what other grants you may be eligible for on 03 90085937 or email.