NSW government commits $500,000 in funding for programs to support women in small business

A $500,000 investment by the New South Wales government across three programs through the Women in Business Networks (WIBN) grant will aim to empower and support more women on their journey to starting and running their small businesses by giving them the tools they need to achieve success.

Of all the small businesses across NSW, only one third of these businesses are owned by women, according to the state government. 

Through the programs, women small business owners, or those who are looking to start a small business, will be connected with resources and support, including training, workshops, networking, peer support, and industry mentoring.

One of the programs to share in the funding is called ‘Work of Art’ and responds to the challenges that many women face when trying to establish creative businesses in regional areas. The program is run by Regional Arts NSW.

‘Empowering Women in Farming Businesses’ is run by the NSW Farmers Association and it will use its share of the funding to host up to 10 events across regional NSW to provide support to regional, rural, and remote women with businesses.

The third program was created by the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and is called ‘Yinaar Ngaambi-li’. It is a bespoke accelerator for Aboriginal women entrepreneurs and business owners that aims to develop their business capacity through a fit-for-purpose, culturally considered business accelerator program, which provides access to business support and professional women role models, mentors, and networks.

Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said the funding for the WIBN program shows the NSW government is committed to supporting female business owners.

“It will help women successfully access, navigate, and leverage formal networks for the purposes of business growth or provide them with access to finance, leading to increased turnover, profit or employment,” she said in a statement last week. 

NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce CEO Deb Barwick said the funding will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women entrepreneurs.

“We know that only one third of businesses within NSW are owned by women, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, this number is significantly lower again, which is why support for networks, and mentors, are just as important as educational programs,” she said in the same statement. 

“The grant will assist in creating a legacy of inspirational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women entrepreneurs, who will have the mentors, tools and resilience to take on any business challenge and in turn will become mentors themselves to the generations to come.”

The WIBN grant is administered by Women NSW and is part of a NSW government commitment to allocate $2 million over four years to support women in small businesses.

Regional Arts NSW CEO Dr Tracey Callinan OAM said women will be able to access a mix of online and in-person activities through the grant.

“By ensuring that women are given practical support to attend sessions and to travel to the face-to-face sessions, ’Work of Art’ will embed practices and relationships that we believe will support them long beyond the life of the program,” she said.

NSW Farmer’s Association vice president Rebecca Reardon said her organisation is seeing more women look for entrepreneurial ways to market and sell their farm’s products. 

“Women perform a critical function in many farm businesses and developing their skills would unlock greater opportunities,” she said in the statement. 

“Women traditionally perform administrative-type activities but we’re seeing more and more women looking for entrepreneurial ways to market and sell their farm’s products.”