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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Government funding pushes Aust IT companies live By Staff writers, 0 December 06, 2002 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Government-funding-pushes-Aust-IT-companies-live/0,139023166,120270497,00.htm
The Building on IT Strengths incubator (BITS) program has had 31 companies graduate from the program in the first two years of its existence, according to the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts. The BITS program involves 10 incubators across the nation that can provide up to AU$450,000 in seed funding, along with business coaching and mentoring and access to channels to markets. Almost half (15) of the companies graduating from the program are located in Victoria, with NSW claiming 10 spots, Queensland and South Australia two each and Western Australia and the ACT one each. The Federal Government puts the success of the two Victorian Incubators down to their high-throughput models based on a fixed time period. Of the 2,474 applications received so far, around 1,000 were based in NSW and just over 400 in Victoria. Of the 158 companies accepted into the program, almost half of them are based in Victoria. The Government has allocated AU$78 million for the incubators, with AU$46.64 million already drawn down for investment into fledgling companies. This has been boosted by $38 million in private funding to the BITS Incubators. A statement from DCITA indicated the government believes the next two years will be a "challenging" time for the incubators, but looks forward to their continued success.
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