There’s some good news for Australian entrepreneurs in Wayne Swan’s 2013 Budget, with the Government revealing it will kick in $378 million to encourage innovation. But like other spending plans in the Budget, the bulk of the money won’t be available for years to come.
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The money will be invested over the next 15 years, with an initial spend of $2.4 million in 2013-14 aimed at supporting the development of new competitive firms in Australia.
Changes will also be made to venture capital tax concessions which the Government said would provide “additional clarity and certainty for investments and facilitate participation by angel investor syndicates”.
The program will include $350 million or a new round of the Innovation Investment Fund program, which is aimed at stimulating venture capital investment. Additionally, $3.2 million will be spent over 15 years in the “promotion and marking of success stories” to encourage investment in Australian firms.
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Australia’s startup scene has been drawing increasing attention from overseas this year with the ecosystem maturing to better support entrepreneurs and the development of cloud technology reducing the barriers to entry for small firms.
More than $25 million has also been earmarked for the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education to administer the package.
It is expected this investment will be doubled, attracting a co-investment of “at least an additional $350 million in matching capital from the private sector, which would result in $700 million being available for venture capital investments.”
Republished from Business Insider
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