Whether you're looking for grants or investors, obtaining finance can be very difficult. You typically need a strong business plan as a minimum to commence the capital raising process.

Investors or funding bodies will need to know in detail what you intend to use the money for. Visit the INNOVIC website to download our Business Plan template. For more information you can also refer to the book Business Plans for Dummies for a well written and easy to understand guide.

Listed below are some websites to investigate when looking for capital:

• www.business.vic.gov.au/programs
  
• www.grantslink.gov.au
• www.avcal.com.au
• www.business.channel.vic.gov.au
• www.australianbusiness.com.au/angels
• www.enterpriseangels.com
• www.ausindustry.gov.au
• www.austrade.gov.au

Also refer to the Saturday Age and Australian as small specific grants are often advertised.

Applying for a government grant?
by Gary Twomey, Director
Innovation Management Consultants Pty Ltd

In considering applying for Government funding support to assist with your business operations whether it be for Business Planning, Product Development or Export Marketing activities it is important to prepare your business case as if you were seeking funding from private sources such as financial institutions or private investors.

The Government, like other providers of funding are looking for you to be able to demonstrate:

• A strong management team with a clear strategy to fully deliver your business goals
• A product development opportunity that is both unique and significantly better than existing products/ services in the market place
• A detailed knowledge of both the market opportunity and the market entry strategy to be employed to deliver your product/services to their target markets
• The ability to demonstrate that your success will deliver benefits to the Australian economy. This includes export sales, increased employment, skills development, partnering and the diffusion of knowledge

An ability to demonstrate you have these capabilities will greatly assist your funding request application.