Coast businesses urged to apply for government funding

Minister for the Central Coast and Minister for Veterans David Harris

Central Coast businesses are being urged to apply for the NSW Government’s MVP Ventures Program which offers grants to early stage start-ups as well as small and medium enterprises.

Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong David Harris said the program aimed to help drive the commercialisation of new and highly innovative products or processes in NSW.

“Individual grants of between $25,000 to $50,000 are available to successful recipients and will support businesses throughout their commercialisation journey,” Harris said.

He said there were “hidden businesses” on the Central Coast which were doing amazing work locally and internationally by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.

Four Central Coast businesses received funding in 2023/24 including $50,000 to Proactive Injury Management Solutions for an app, MARA, which claims to revolutionise the healthcare industry; and $48,887 to Ihydrate Pty Ltd for customer trials and pilot commercialisation for the biotechnology of a personal hydration test.

Resonait Medical Technologies received $50,000 funding to develop a new medical device for the treatment of depression; and BC House received $100,000 for BuyCloud, an online platform that gives people an easy way to become qualified to purchase real estate or find property, access the necessary information and process the entire transaction on one online platform.

Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology Anoulack Chanthivong said the government was focused on nurturing innovation that could bring economic opportunity to the state by tackling challenges such as the transition to net zero.

“With grants of up to $50,000, the MVP Ventures Program provides much needed support to assist start-ups on their commercialisation journey while ensuring we attract and retain entrepreneurial talent in NSW,” Chanthivong said.

Innovative businesses which successfully complete projects funded under the program are permitted to reapply for additional funding to make further progress along the Technology Readiness Level scale. 

Details of the 2023/24 MVP Ventures Program grant recipients are available at www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/mvp-ventures-2023-2024.

Applications are now open for the 2024/25 funding round, with information on the program and how to apply available at https://www.investment.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-rebates/mvp-ventures/.

Applications close February 28, 2025, or until funding is exhausted, whichever occurs first.