Since my last post on
export assistance I’ve come across three other grants to get real help to develop your business;
First, the new NZTE funding programme is called the
International Growth Fund. This fund give grants to companies that want to expand their international markets. Businesses can apply for funding to cover market visits, marketing research, marketing materials, advertising and promotion, and trade fairs and events. For this grant you can get up to $500,000 over five years to help develop your international markets. Again this must be matched on a dollar for dollar basis.
Second on the list is Tech NZ funding. If you are looking at more of a pure research and development project, then you could look to
Tech NZ for some funding. They have a range of grants available from small SmartStart grants for up to $5,000, up to Technology for Business Growth (TBG) grants for up to $800,000 on a one for one basis. So if you have a range of great ideas to develop some new products or update your current products then you should have a look at these.
Lastly there is the Escalator Service. Here you can access a subsidised service that assists in the capital raising process. The
Escalator Service covers the costs involved in raising capital, that is the preparation of an information memorandum and it also caps the cost of capital at 6%. So if your looking to raise capital for your business this is a good option.
So if your looking to either develop your business, develop your products or get into exporting there are some good opportunities available for you to do this;
International Growth Fund -
Exporting Costs, Marketing Visits, Trade Shows, Market Research, some Advertising and Promotion.
Tech NZ.- Research & Development: Product Research and Development. Typically technical costs to complete a scoped project.
Escalator Service -
Capital Raising: Covers offer documentation (information memorandum), valuation, investor identification, negotiation.
The rules and qualification requirements for these programmes change so check the sites for the latest information. If you want any more advice on any of these services don't hesitate to
contact us.
Updated: 1 July 2009