Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Grant
An MVP grant can help you create a market-ready product, validate your business idea, and increase your chances of success. The Minimum Viable Product Grant is for tech startups to help them engage with their target audience or market to test their market appetite for their offering.
Jobs for New South Wales
The minimum viable product grant is part of Jobs for NSW. Jobs for NSW provides financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and fast-growing, emerging startups to grow and create new jobs in NSW.
With an investment of $190 million over four years, Jobs for NSW offers a suite of financial products, including grants for NSW startups, loans, and loan guarantees to support entrepreneurial industries and businesses that create sustainable jobs for them across the state.
Objectives of the Minimum Viable Product
The minimum viable product funding aims to support promising startups before generating revenue to move from proof of concept to an MVP development stage.
Companies can apply for funding to develop an MVP for:
- The first phase of revenue, or
- At a stage where feedback indicates that the MVP does not suit the business model.
What funding is available?
An MVP grant is a matching grant of up to 50% of approved project costs, up to a maximum of $25,000.
Successful applicants will receive 35% of funds upfront and 65% after MVP completion and validation.
Who is eligible?
MVP grants for vital goods are available for companies that develop scalable technological solutions in all sectors of the economy.
To win an MVP grant, companies must meet the following criteria:
- Have identified potential business customers (B2B) or consumer channels (B2C) used to market the product.
- The business must be at the pre-income stage. You may not have made any previous income.
- The business must have its headquarters in New South Wales and have a state-registered ABN.
- The company must demonstrate that it will incur 80% of the development costs in New South Wales.
- The company must demonstrate that it has obtained financing in accordance with what is requested in the application. (A request for $20,000 must be matched with private funds of equal value.)
- The company must have a product distributed to several customers.
- The company must have a validated proof of concept. (You must provide evidence in the form of research or evidence that the product or concept is feasible.)
- The company must own the intellectual property rights to commercialize the product.
How to assess your eligibility
Applications must meet the eligibility criteria:
- Economic benefits for New South Wales
- Level of innovation
- The power of the business model
- The strengths of the industrial sector
What are the funding conditions?
The amount of the grant, the modalities, and the results of the project will be detailed in a grant agreement given to the selected applicants. Successful applicants will receive 35% of the grant upon signing the grant agreement and 65% upon completion and validation of the MVP. This includes an assessment of all agreed outcomes, which will be described in the grant agreement. The minimum viable product must be completed with market feedback within six (6) months of accepting the funding agreement. Successful regional MVP grant recipients can also apply for up to $2,000 to help with innovation-related travel to regional innovation hubs such as the Local Innovation Network and Regional Landing at Sydney Startup Hub.
How to Get the Minimum Viable Product Grant
Minimum viable product grants applications are open year-round and applicants can submit online.
Applicants should apply if they have not already done so. They should also verify that their application meets the above eligibility criteria before applying.
All questions are assessed against the criteria in the guidance document available here. All applicants should read this document before applying.
Minimum viable products must meet the eligibility criteria:
- Economic benefits for New South Wales: for example, job creation and/or improved talent pool in targeted employment segments for New South Wales; the export potential of the solution; benefits for the NSW region
- Industry Sector Benefits: Examples of these: benefits to an industry sector, i.e., improved efficiency, new supply chain or capacity; fill a gap in the market; the possibility of developing in other sectors.
- Level of innovation: for example, the uniqueness of the idea; innovative application of new or existing technologies; the potential for accelerating market adoption;
- The power of the business model: Examples: consistent target market or potential customer; administrative skills, or channel to market.
How long does the minimum viable product grant take?
Strong demand for grants has delayed the approval deadline. The current estimated time frame for approval is approximately 12 weeks, but this may change in the short term.
Other financial support options
If your business is not eligible for an MVP grant, other funding sources are available to support your business. We detail below the main types of financing:
Building Partnerships Grant
This partnership grant helps new revenue-generating businesses and other SMEs grow their business by acquiring a key new customer or identifying new marketing channels.
Eligible companies can claim up to 35% of project costs up to $100,000. Project costs can include development costs for improving a product, costs incurred by training or testing, and costs associated with acquiring or retaining talent.
The candidate must meet the following criteria:
- The business must already be generating revenue.
- The business must be registered for GST and have an ABN in New South Wales.
- The organization must demonstrate adequate financing of at least 65% of the total project costs.
- The company must demonstrate the value of the solution through a consortium of partners/customers.
- The company must own the intellectual property rights of the solution.
- The solution must be innovative and scalable.
Regional Startups
Regional businesses based in New South Wales are eligible for a regional startup grant. It offers a salary of up to $2,000 to help cover travel expenses incurred while traveling for innovation purposes.
The donation helps remove barriers that would otherwise prevent regional startups from participating in meetings, programs, and innovation events organized by the Local Innovation Network.
You can find more information about the Local Innovation Network (LIN) and its participants here.
West Sydney Investment Fund
This $5 million investment fund was created to help leading technology and manufacturing companies create new jobs in Sydney’s developing western region.
This area is one of Australia’s busiest and fastest-growing regions due to major infrastructure investments such as the new town and planned airport. This will create more than 200,000 new jobs over the next decade when completed.
Details on how to distribute the funds to beneficiaries are still in progress. But a wide range of loan products and loan guarantees should be available. Those who are want to enroll can sign up here to receive more information as it becomes available.
