By Alesha Capone
Wyndham council will set aside $200,000 for a Small Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund, to assist local businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council last week voted to include the funding in its 2020-21 budget, as part of an ongoing annual program which will be reviewed in 2023.
The competitive fund will offer a maximum of $10,000 (exclusive of GST) available to each applicant.
The funding will be in two streams, one for businesses which have been trading for less than 24 months and another for businesses that have been trading for longer than 24 months.
The types of initiatives which the council will consider funding include business training and skills development; new technology; and investments in export capacity building.
A council report into the fund said: “COVID-19 has placed unprecedented pressure on the local economy and no matter how the pandemic progresses, there will be a point in time when the pandemic subsides.
“This will see a transition to a prolonged period of economic recovery, typically characterised by an initial sharp spike in consumer and business confidence.
“Council is committed to planning ahead and have programs in place to leverage the opportunities of this recovery period.”
The Small Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund comes on top of the council already committing $5 million to help Wyndham’s businesses and residents cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
