Round two of the South Australian government’s Fearless Innovator Grant Program has opened, part of its commitment to supporting more women in growing their start-ups.
Delivered by Women in Innovation (WINN) in partnership with the Fearless Females Network (FFN), the grants aim to address the long-standing gap in access to early-stage capital for female-led innovative businesses to grow and scale into national and international markets with new products and services.
The program offers two funding streams to support women entrepreneurs at different stages of business growth:
- Scale-up grant: One $60,000 grant for a business with established product or service sales, ready to scale and expand into national and international markets.
- Accelerate grants: Two $20,000 grants to help early-stage businesses fast-track growth and build their market presence.
In addition, there is also a $20,000 grant, supported by Westpac and awarded on merit by the judging panel, bringing the total grant funding available to $120,000 this year.
The state government will also provide dollar-for-dollar matched funding of up to $50,000 to support emerging female founders under the program, complementing contributions from donors and helping maximise the total support available.
South Australian Deputy Premier Susan Close stated: “Removing barriers to women in the startup community will benefit our state’s long-term prosperity, including helping to access larger national and international markets. These grants are an important investment in entrepreneurial South Australian women wanting to expand their enterprises and help grow our state’s economy.”
Launched in 2024, the Fearless Innovator Grant Program is funded through the government’s Research and Innovation Fund, which seeks to support a strong, vibrant and high-quality research and innovation ecosystem for driving future economic growth, productivity and wellbeing in SA.
It also builds on the success of the state government’s $4 million Women in Business program, which has already supported more than 3600 women to grow their businesses and develop their skills and is a key initiative of the $14 million SA Small Business Strategy.
With this boost, the programs further improve the challenges women entrepreneurs face. The recent 2024 State of Australian Startup Funding report found that female founders still received only 2 per cent of total venture capital funding in Australia.
SA MP Andrea Michaels commented: “The Fearless Innovators program is a fantastic opportunity for South Australian women in business to access the early-stage capital they need to grow and scale their ventures. Along with the Women in Business program, the Malinauskas Government is committed to supporting female business owners to overcome financial barriers and realise long-term growth opportunities.”
Applications for the program are open until June 8. Successful recipients will be announced at an awards night in September.
