Ignite Ideas Fund

About the program

The Ignite Ideas Fund supports Queensland based small to medium businesses that have high-growth potential to undertake commercialisation projects that will:

strengthen key industries in Queensland
diversify the Queensland economy
compete in domestic and global markets
engage and/or benefit regional Queensland
create new jobs, now and into the future.

Funding and support

Two tiers of funding are available.

Tier 1

Up to $100,000 (excluding GST) for projects of up to 12 months duration.

Tier 2

Greater than $100,000 and up to $200,000 (excluding GST) for projects of up to 24 months duration.

For Round 9, successful applicants will be eligible for additional business development support through our new Ignite+ program. This pilot program will provide support across sales and marketing, customer acquisition, competitor analysis, intellectual property (IP)/legal support, financial structure, connections to mentors and sponsors, and access and introductions to business and investment networks.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, applicant organisations must at the time of application:

be a business headquartered in Queensland
have no more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees
not be a subsidiary of a group of companies that has more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees
not have received funding for the proposed project activity from either the State, Federal or Local Government
be registered for GST (at time of full application submission).

If applying for tier 1, the applicant organisation and/or related parties must:

not have received an Ignite Ideas Fund grant previously
make a cash contribution to the project that is at least equal to 20% of the value of funding sought.

If applying for tier 2, the applicant organisation and/or related parties must:

not have received an Ignite Ideas Fund tier 2 grant previously
not be applying for a product or service that has previously received Ignite Ideas funding
have successfully completed any project funded under tier 1 of the Ignite Ideas Fund (if relevant)
make a cash contribution to the project that is at least equal to the amount of funding sought

Organisations and their related parties are limited to one application per funding round.

Application process and timeframes

The program has a two-staged applications process – an expression of interest application being the first stage followed by a full application stage for the shortlisted expression of interest applicants.
Expression of interest applications are now open.
Expression of interest applications will close at 10.00 am (AEST) on Thursday 7 July 2022.
Late applications will not be accepted.
All applicants will receive written notification of the outcome of their application to the email address provided in the application form.

Key documents

Enquiries

QiHub - networks, resources, find a critical friend to review your plan.
Read the guidelines before emailing igniteideasfund@dtis.qld.gov.au.

Additional support

Business support and grant writing information
Queensland Government Grants Finder
Your Regional Startup Hub or the Toowoomba Agtech and Logistics Hub may also have useful resources that can assist.

Watch the webinar

Watch our Ignite Ideas webinar where fellow founders who have successfully secured Ignite Ideas funding share their insights about their experience and learnings from the process.

Speakers include:

Yasmin Grigaliunas, Co-Founder, World's Biggest Garage Sale
Nyree McKenzie CF APMP, Co-Founder, Bidhive
Jason Atkins, Co-Founder, Cake Equity
Gillian Gardiner, Chief Operating Officer, Advance Queensland
Stephen Lamb, Director, Contract and Investment Management, Advance Queensland

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Ignite Ideas Fund