The Queensland Government has announced it will give small businesses a boost, with up to $75,000 in funding available to enable the purchase of specialised equipment to accelerate growth, increase production and expand their workforce as part of the Business Growth Fund.
From the Gold Coast to Cairns, 28 businesses will share in $1.9 million to help them grow.
With grant funding, Business Growth Fund recipients are expected to improve confidence for growth and diversification, while increasing productivity, profit and possibly their workforce, catering for their transition from small to medium-sized businesses.
The Sunshine Coast’s GeoDrill Australia, a family-owned business specialising in mineral and coal exploration, as well as geotechnical and water drilling services, will use a $75,000 grant to enhance capabilities of its fleet of three Hydrapower HP850 drilling rigs.
The business will engage a Toowoomba-based engineering firm to design, engineer and implement rig enhancements, which will upgrade depth capacity beyond 3,000m and allow the business to remain competitive with interstate drilling rivals.
The Business Growth Fund Program is a supporting initiative of the Queensland Government’s Big Plans for Small Business Strategy.
110 Queensland businesses have been supported to date, sharing in almost $5.7 million.
Queensland Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development, Lance McCallum, said that small businesses are the backbone of Queensland communities and economy, which is why the State Government is proud to support them and help them grow.
“This latest round of the Business Growth Fund will help 28 businesses across Queensland to meet demand and unlock their potential.”
Minister McCallum said that each of the businesses have identified speciality equipment that will help take their operations to the next level.
“Backing our hard-working small businesses means a bigger and more robust economy.
“This latest round of the Business Growth Fund means more than 5,800 grants have been paid totalling more than $37 million through the Miles Government’s Big Plans for Small Business Strategy.”
GeoDrill Australia Managing Director, Thomas Partleton, said the Business Growth Fund has helped GeoDrill to prepare and launch a new brand, GD Water Solutions, which will service rural Queensland, providing end-to-end water solutions to Queensland businesses and families.
“As a family owned, fourth-generation Queensland-based drilling business, the Business Growth Fund allowed us to further enhance the exceptional drilling capacity of our three Queensland manufactured Hydrapower HP850 drilling rigs.
“Queensland Government support has helped our revenue grow by 44 per cent, allowed us to employ an additional 12 team members over the last year and it’s keeping us competitive.”
More than 5,800 small business grants have been paid totalling more than $37 million through the Big Plans for Small Business Strategy grant programs
Three small business grants made available through Big Plans for Small Business Strategy include:
- Business Growth Fund grants of up to $75,000 for small and medium-sized businesses to purchase specialised equipment. 110 Queensland businesses have shared almost $5.7 million in grants so far
- Business Boost grants of up to $20,000 for small businesses to enhance their efficiency and productivity. 379 businesses have been supported to date, sharing in more than $4.7 million
- Business Basics grant of $5,000 for new and emerging businesses to increase core skills and adopt best practice. 5,390 businesses have been supported to date, sharing in $27 million
