RCCIWA Members Forum – October 31^st and November 1^st 2019

Planning is underway for the second RCCIWA Members Forum for 2019 – which will be held on October 31^st and November 1^st in Perth. We encourage you to get in touch and let us know the speakers and topics you would like to see included, to ensure we continue to provide a relevant and valuable experience. Please email me at ceo@regionalchamberswa.com.au with any suggestions you may have. Our President Ron Mosby caught up with the Cabinet when they met in Kalgoorlie over the weekend – and they were all keen to come along to this meeting!

 

SBDC – Delivering Workshops with Facebook to support Regional Small Businesses

The SBDC are working with Facebook Australia to help deliver their Community Boost program providing free digital skills workshops to small businesses across regional WA from August to November 2019.

After successful sessions in Pinjarra, Port Hedland and Karratha, they still have Carnarvon, Kununurra, Northam, Merredin, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Newman, Broome, Busselton and Manjimup on the list of towns to visit. For details and to secure your place, check the Eventbrite page. They’ll be adding more workshops list once dates are finalised, so check back later if your location isn't listed yet.

 

SBDC – Dealing with Construction Work Near your Business

With a number of major construction projects planned around the regions, knowing how to deal with the potential disruption that can be caused by construction work is important to minimising its impact on your businesses. If construction work is due to take place in your area, planning ahead with help your businesses take advantage of the improvements the project may bring and/or help minimise the impact on your business. You can read the SBDC’s tips here.

 

Streamline WA – Have your input about ways to improve regulatory impact

Streamline WA is a whole-of-government initiative to make it easier to do business in Western Australia via better regulation and regulatory practices. Launched in December 2018, the initiative aims to encourage more investment and create more jobs in WA by developing better ways of creating and applying regulation, and improving how government interacts with business, industry and the community. It also seeks to reduce the barriers, costs and complexities of actually doing business.

Streamline WA is led by a steering committee, supported by regulatory and economic development government agencies, and in collaboration with industry and community group leaders. The initiative is being implemented by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation with support from the Department of Treasury.

RCCIWA will be contributing a submission, however we encourage you to do the same as well. For more info please go to their wesbite here. If you have ideas on how to improve regulation, now is the time to let government know.

 

SME Export Hubs – Round 2 Open

The second round of the Small and Medium Entreprises (SME) Export Hubs Initiative is now open for applications. The program provides grants from $150,000 to $1.5 million to help establish and/or operate SME export hubs in the six Growth Centre sectors.  The Growth Centre sectors are Advanced Manufacturing; Cyber Security; Food and Agribusiness; Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals; Mining Equipment, Technology and Services; and Oil, Gas and Energy Resources.
There is $11.9 million in funding available under Round 2. Grant funds must be matched with cash and projects must conclude by 30 June 2022.
The program will be delivered through a two-stage competitive selection process. Stage 1 expressions of interest (EOI) will close at 5.00pm AEST Thursday 19 September 2019. Stage 2 applications are expected to open in mid-November 2019 and will close at 5.00pm AEDT Tuesday 17 December 2019. 
You can view further information about the program and apply at www.business.gov.au/smeeh.

 

Boosting Female Founders – Have Your Say

The Australian Government’s Boosting Female Founders (BFF) Initiative will provide targeted funding and support for women engaging in innovative entrepreneurship from 2020. The $18 million program will ensure the entrepreneurial needs of diverse groups are served. These groups include female entrepreneurs in regional areas and Indigenous founders who face greater difficulties accessing capital.

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is seeking views on the design of this program. They want to hear from people who have experience founding or supporting startups.
They are holding a focus group at FLUX, 191 St Georges Tce, Perth from 12 - 2 pm on Tuesday 1 October 2019 to hear your views.  Please register here to take part.
A webinar-based focus group will take place on Friday 4 October 2019.  Further details will be available at the BFF Consultation Hub soon, or you can register your interest by emailing bff@industry.gov.au.
You can also visit  BFF Consultation Hub to provide written feedback.

Consultation closes on Friday 4 October 2019.