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Grants

LaunchVic offers grants for program providers and investor groups to establish in Victoria and help Victorian founders and their teams start, grow and scale startups. We also partner with other departments and agencies to offer direct grants to founders in priority sectors.

If you have a question regarding LaunchVic funding, send us an enquiry.

Sign up for LaunchVic’s newsletter to be notified about future opportunities, and view a full list of programs that startups can apply to on our programs page.

Open grants Previously funded grants Unsolicited proposals Grant FAQs

Open Grants

FOR STARTUPS

Grants for AgTech Startups

$50,000 grants for early-stage AgTech founders.

Timings for this grant round:

Grant Program launched:	21 February 2023
Information Session:	Thursday 2 March 2023 View the info session webinar
Application Rounds close:	October 31 2024 February 28 2025 May 30 2025
Assessment begins:	May 2023
Assessment timeline:	Approximately 3 weeks
Closes:	When all funds are fully allocated, or by June 30 2025
Announcement:	Via the LaunchVic website

Overview

LaunchVic has again partnered with Agriculture Victoria to increase support for early-stage AgTech startups across Victoria by rapidly providing small amounts of working capital to help startups build capability and move to the next stage of growth.

As well as providing funding to cover operating costs that build startup capability and growth for early-stage AgTech startups, the grant will provide access to business development services that will enable founders to access the best possible support and advice to build their businesses, grow jobs, and support Victoria’s economic growth.

View the Program Guidelines (v2.4 reissued 4 Oct 2024)

Watch the Information Session

Read our FAQs

Apply Online

View A Sample Contract

Other grants for Startups

Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources	Funding and incentives
Australian Government	Grants & Programs
Australian Government	R&D Tax Incentive
Business Victoria	Grants & Programs
City of Melbourne	Grants and Scholarships
CSIRO	CSIRO Kick-Start
Victorian State Government	Grants schemes

For programs

No open grants at this time, please sign up to our newsletter for future updates.

For Investors

No open grants at this time, please sign up to our newsletter for future updates.

Grants for startups

LaunchVic partners with other government departments and agencies to offer equity-free grants in priority industries. We also offer investment through our targeted funds.

Types of grants for startups:

Startup business grants: Startup business grants help entrepreneurs access business mentoring services, fund trials of their product, or hire talent.

Through our partnership with Agriculture Victoria, LaunchVic currently offers direct grants of $50,000 to AgTech startups.
LaunchVic also offers up to $50,000 equity-free funding through our CivVic Labs program for aspiring founders. Sign up to our newsletter to be notified when new intakes go live.

Blended capital: Blended capital is an investment with an equity and grant component.

LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund and Hugh Victor McKay Fund take 85% of their investment as equity, and the remainder goes to the founder as a non-dilutive government startup grant.
This allows founders to retain more ownership of their company and be less diluted in future raises.

Grants for Program Providers

LaunchVic offers grants to program providers to bring the world’s best startup support programs to Victoria.

Types of Grants for Program Providers:

Grants for pre-accelerator programs: programs targeted at startup entrepreneurs who have a technology-based idea for a startup and want to establish a business and develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The program runs for a designated period, and participants ‘graduate’ from the program having followed a set methodology to establish a startup. A Pre-Accelerator program can provide a pathway to an Accelerator program.
Grants for accelerator programs: programs targeted at established Startups who want to scale their business. They are typically fixed-term, cohort-based programs, but may also be delivered in the style of an incubator that accepts startups on an ad-hoc basis. Accelerators (and incubators) are competitive – entry is by way of an application process – and successful startups can expect to receive mentorship and/or education, and introductions to customers and early-stage investors including through a public pitch event or demo day.

Grants for Investors

LaunchVic offers seed funding for investor groups to establish in Victoria and invest in local startups.

Types of grants for investors:

Grants for angel networks: An Angel Network is a formalized group of Angel Investors that collectively evaluate and invest in entrepreneurial ventures. Grants for angel networks fund the operational costs of establishing new networks and unlock more investment for startup founders.
VC Support grants: Grants to cover operational costs for VC funds to establish in Victoria.
Investor Education: Grants for organizations to provide high-quality investor education to build the confidence and capability needed to invest in startups.

Unsolicited Proposals

In special circumstances, LaunchVic may accept unsolicited proposals for grants outside of its communicated grant rounds or its refunding of high-performing programs.

While we do not fund startups directly via unsolicited proposals, the programs we fund aim to provide the services needed to assist early-stage and scaling startups through their journey.

Any proposal received must meet the following principles:

Alignment with strategy: The proposal is strongly aligned with the LaunchVic Strategy.
Uniqueness: The applicant is uniquely placed to deliver the proposal.
Expertise: The applicant possesses the level of professional expertise required to deliver a successful outcome with minimal risk of failure.
Impact: The applicant has described an excellent program that has a genuine need by the target audience and will impact and benefit the Victorian startup ecosystem.
Need for funding: There is a credible need for LaunchVic funding.
Value for money: The program must be value for money.
Sustainability: The program has a pathway to sustainability, either by creating self-sufficiency or through supporting the startup ecosystem to be more sustainable.

Any proposal that does not meet all of these criteria will not be reviewed.

LaunchVic will endeavour to review all unsolicited proposals, and provide feedback, but is under no obligation to do so.

Any proposal considered appropriate for funding will undergo further assessment and due diligence in accordance with the process for all grants awarded by LaunchVic.

Any approved applicants must also undergo due diligence by LaunchVic.

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Grants

Open Grants

FOR STARTUPS

For programs

For Investors

Grants for startups

Types of grants for startups:

Grants for Program Providers

Types of Grants for Program Providers:

Grants for Investors

Types of grants for investors:

Unsolicited Proposals

Have a question?

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