Applications for the Coles Nurture Fund are now open

What is the Coles Nurture Fund?

Coles Supermarkets Australia launched the fund in 2015 committing $50M to assist small to medium Australian producers, farmers, and manufacturers to advance innovation in their businesses. To date the fund has provided $28M in grants to eligible applicants.

Eligible applicants can receive grants of up to $500,000 to support projects which assist in the development of NEW market-leading products, technologies, systems, and products.

Grant eligibility

To be eligible for funding from the CNF Applicants must:

• have a turnover that is less than $25,000,000 per annum;
• employ no more than 50 full time employees (excluding casual seasonal labour);
• have a registered Australian Business Number;
• have been trading for a minimum of two years;
• provide financial statements for a minimum of the previous two financial years;
• demonstrate the project is unique and drives innovation, and provides outstanding sustainability benefits;
• provide a funding declaration from an external accountant on the accountant’s company letterhead confirming ability to fund applicant’s share of project costs and solvency.

Project requirements

Applications should also provide material to demonstrate the potential value of the project across several key measures, including:

• commercial potential
• adoption of innovative technology
• economic impact
• Level of strategic alignment with the food and grocery sector in areas such as fresh produce, food processing, grocery, energy efficiency, logistics/transport, IT and packaging.
• Demonstration of productivity improvements
• New market opportunities through additional investment.

Examples of prior successful projects include Australia’s first quinoa processing facility, fence posts made from recycled plastic and a factory to grow grass indoors.

Do you have an innovative project?

The Financial Advisory team at Mazars has extensive experience in grants (including assisting with economic impact), debt advisory and project feasibility analysis for agribusinesses. Our agribusiness and finance experts can assist you in positioning your project to obtain advantageous funding. Contact your usual Mazars advisor or alternatively, our financial advisory specialist, Angela Winton via the form below or on:

Author: Alex Harris

Published: 27/01/2022

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