As always, we welcome a new financial year with enthusiasm and anticipation, but this year it is also bittersweet for South Australia’s business community and South Australian Business Chamber.
The end of the 2022 – 2023 financial year saw us bid farewell to a long-standing business support initiative, the Australian Government Entrepreneurs’ Programme, which has greatly benefited both the South Australian and national economies.
Last Friday marked the end of an era as we said goodbye to the programme and the highly skilled team of facilitators who delivered it.
Over the past eight years, the South Australian Business Chamber has partnered with the Federal Government’s Department of Industry, Science, and Resources to deliver this contracted programme. Unfortunately, it was announced in the May 2023 – 2024 Federal Budget that the program would be closed as the Government announced a new Industry Growth Program.
The programme provided expert advice and financial support through grants to eligible Australian businesses. Since 2014, the Entrepreneurs’ Programme has approved more than 25,700 services and distributed $623.4 million across Australia through over 13,100 grants.
Here in South Australia, we had the privilege of working with a remarkable team of facilitators employed by the South Australian Business Chamber. They dedicated their time and expertise to engage with local businesses across all regions and industries, supporting their growth and contributing to our business community’s success.
During the most recent three-year term of the contract, the South Australian Business Chamber provided nearly 60% of the services offered in our state, facilitating 460 grants for a total of $9.2M. That equated to 438 individual business clients who benefited from the program. In the last 12 months alone, the South Australian Business Chamber’s clients who finalised their engagement with the program enjoyed an average EBIT increase of 113%, Export growth of 65%, Revenue uplift of 29% and grew their workforce by 9%.
The merit of such programs, professionally curated and delivered, is evident in these numbers.
While the announcement in the 2023 – 2024 financial year federal budget was disappointing for participants and facilitators, new opportunities are now emerging.
The budget unveiled a new industry growth program worth $392 million over four years (then $65 million a year ongoing), including funding for Industry Growth Centres. This initiative is set to launch late in 2023 and will provide advice and matched grant funding for SMEs and startups to commercialise their ideas and grow their business.
This fresh injection of funds presents substantial opportunities for a new group of businesses and will hopefully welcome back some of the subject matter experts from the Entrepreneurs’ Programme and a new band of skilled practitioners.
The South Australian Business Chamber looks forward to the opportunity to engage with the federal government in this new initiative and is supportive of the benefits it will bring for South Australian businesses.
As we step into the new financial year, we encourage the business community to reflect on the challenges of the past few years and look ahead with determination. Conditions are getting tougher. Business is not immune to inflationary pressures any more than households. For many operators, costs are growing as demand subsides and margins are squeezed.
Despite the challenging environment, we have been remarkably resilient as a state and have much to be optimistic about. As we navigate the current conditions, the South Australian Business Chamber as your local chamber of commerce and industry will continue to advocate on the issues that impact business and work with our members to help remove the complexity that puts a handbrake on growth and create opportunities for them to thrive and prosper in the year ahead.
