Treasurer Tim Pallas’ big plan to keep start-ups in Victoria
Victorian entrepreneurs will be able to get their start-ups off the ground much easier as part of a huge investment into the sector.
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Victorian start-ups will be thrown a government lifeline in a bold bid to stop our best ideas leaving the state.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal a $25m venture growth fund will be part of Tuesday’s budget to allow the government to co-invest to help new companies get off the ground.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said he was “obsessed” about better facilitating start-up ventures.
“I wonder how many of these great ideas have just gone missing or gone overseas as a consequence of us not being prepared to be a bit strategic in terms of our interventions,” he said.
“This will be one of a number of issues where you will see that innovation will drive productivity, will drive employment, and that is the key focus of the government.”
Mr Pallas said many Victorian start-ups had the ambition to grow, but struggled to secure the initial capital.
“We’ve got an incredible resource sector. We need to learn how better to commercialise it, and the state can’t sit back and bemoan the fact that it’s not operating well,” he said.
“We know that particularly the Reserve Bank, (and) the Productivity Commission, has made observations that access to loan capacity is extremely difficult for commercialising companies.
“It’s even more difficult for those companies that don’t have a substantial capital base, but have a great idea.”
Between March and July the government paid $1.47bn in Business Support Fund grants to 108,000 businesses.
Independent modelling found the grants saved 35,000 jobs and 7000 businesses, and generated $1.8bn in additional economic activity with further support for jobs, businesses and economic activity coming from $1bn in payroll tax refunds and waivers.
It is understood there will be further access to finance initiatives in Tuesday’s budget.
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