Sources of funding

There are a number of finance options within the private sector that can assist you with obtaining capital to explore your business ideas. These include: 

• self funding
• loans through financial institutions (debt finance)
• money from shareholders (equity finance)
• crowd funding.

Private sector funding

The government also offer government co-investment funds. These act as a government investment into your business where you need to match a percentage of the investment from other sources of funding. Government co-investment funds are also granted for a specific purpose.

A current example of an investment fund is the South Australian Venture Capital Fund (SAVCF). The SAVCF is specific to high growth and export potential companies, where at least 50% of staff allocation and assets are within South Australia during a set period. The governments investment needs to be match with at least 50% investment from the business or other sources of funding.

South Australian Venture Capital Fund

You might be a candidate for a government grant. There are a number of grants that the government provide to businesses, to assist them with new or growth ideas. Government grants exist across national, state and local governments. Each grant has it's own purpose and restrictions, however, it may assist in other decisions you need to make, such as where to locate your business.

Government grants