NSW Startup Community Programs & Opportunities (MVP Ventures Program)

NSW Startup Community Programs & Opportunities (MVP Ventures Program) is sponsored by Investment NSW (NSW Government). This initiative brings together a range of government grants, accelerators, and networking opportunities to support early-stage businesses in NSW. The MVP Ventures Program provides competitive grants for startups and innovative SMEs to commercialise new products.

MVP Ventures Program | NSW Government MVP Ventures is a competitive grant that helps businesses bring innovative products to market. It also attracts and keeps commercialisation activities in NSW.

Opens: 9 March, 2026, 9:00 am Closes: 10 April 2026, 5:00 pm Grant Amount: From $20,000 to $75,000 (depending on funding stream) Selection Process: Competitive, Merit Based Funding: Financial Year 2025-26 up to $3 million available Download the MVP Ventures program guidelines. Explore recent updates from Investment NSW. Frequently asked questions Explore answers to commonly asked questions.

Round 1: Applicants advised of final outcomes Round 2: Applications are currently under assessment Applicants will be notified by email if their application does not meet eligibility requirements. Eligible applicants will be advised once the competitive assessment has been completed. Application status can be viewed via the SmartyGrants portal until formal notification is sent.

Closed: 28 September 2025 The NSW Government has committed up to $3 million for the Financial Year 2025-26. The program supports the Government’s commitment, as outlined in the NSW Innovation Blueprint 2035, to increase funding access for priority groups and help bridge the equity gap in the start-up ecosystem.

Two funding streams are available for the 2025-2026 program and have been designed to reduce financial barriers and foster greater participation from under-represented groups. The total program funding for Round 3 will be allocated evenly across the two funding streams, with up to 50% available to each stream.

All applications will be assessed using the same eligibility requirements and merit-based assessment criteria and will be ranked separately within each stream. The 50% allocation is applied at the funding decision stage only and does not affect how applications are assessed or scored.

Where either stream does not have sufficient eligible or fundable applications to utilise its allocated share, any uncommitted funding may be reallocated to the other stream and awarded to the next highest-ranked applications. The grant amount for eligible businesses will be up to 50% of the Total Eligible Project Expenditure (grant percentage), with a: minimum co-contribution of 50%.

majority Women-owned and managed, or regionally headquartered and operated*, or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander majority-owned and managed A grant amount of up to 75% of the Total Eligible Project Expenditure (grant percentage) is available, with a: minimum co-contribution of 25%.

*Refer to the FAQ page for LGA listings Eligibility and assessment criteria To be eligible to apply, your business must: have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) have an account with an Australian authorised deposit-taking institution be a company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth) hold intellectual property (IP) or rights to commercialise have an aggregated turnover of $400,000 or less in each of the three financial years prior to the lodgement of your application, and have 10 or fewer Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees including founders.

In addition, you must satisfy the eligibility requirements of the funding stream you are applying for.

To be eligible, projects must: be directly related to the pre-market development and commercialisation pathway of your product involve progressing your product along the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale between 3 and 9 demonstrate why the project would not proceed in NSW without government support be completed within 12 months of funding, minimum project period is 3 months (the ‘Project period’) undertake funded activities in NSW, and include only eligible expenditure.

You must address all the following assessment criteria in your application: You must clearly demonstrate that the product: addresses a realistic and well-defined problem backed by industry research is new or significantly different to what already exists, and provides a solution that meets a market need.

You must clearly demonstrate that the product: supports NSW Industry Policy Missions, and will deliver economic, environmental and/or social benefits to NSW. You must clearly detail how you intend to deliver your project by outlining: the project outcomes, milestones, key activities, and risks the project team's capacity, along with appropriate management, commercial, professional, and technical expertise to deliver the project.

Application and assessment process Step 1: Submitting an online application via SmartyGrants You complete and submit an MVP application form in full via the SmartyGrants platform. Step 2: Eligibility review We will review all applications against the eligibility criteria. Applications that do not meet program eligibility will not be considered for competitive assessment.

Step 3: Competitive assessment We will assess all applications that meet eligibility criteria against the assessment criteria of innovation, commercialisation and deliverability.

Step 4: independent panel review We will engage an independent panel to review the assessment outcomes and make recommendations for funding based on the merit of the application and advice from the assessment team to the Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology who is the final decision maker.

Step 5: Grant decisions are made The Minister makes the final decision on which applications are successful, based on the assessment recommendations. Funding will be allocated to applications in order of merit until the available funds for the round are fully allocated, or all eligible applications have been funded, whichever occurs first. Step 6: We notify you of the outcome We advise you of the outcome of your application.

Before applying you must read and understand the program guidelines. complete the online application form, provide all the information requested, including supporting documentation, in line with the instructions provided within the form, meet all the program eligibility criteria, applications that do not meet program eligibility will not be considered for competitive assessment, and submit your application before round close.

MVP Ventures accountant declaration 2025-2026 (PDF 106. 23KB) MVP Ventures sample letter of intent 2025-2026 (DOCX 40. 25KB) MVP technology readiness level calculator (XLSX 66.

49KB) MVP Ventures sample funding agreement 2025-2026 (PDF 453. 79KB) Webinar - program overview The webinar will outline the program, key changes in Round 3, and application tips for Stream 2. The program is administered by Investment NSW, a part of the Premiers Department.

The Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology is the final decision maker and will determine which grants to approve, based on funding recommendations and the availability of program funds. Please contact us if you have any questions about this program.