Export Market Development Grants for Software and Technology Companies

New software and technology rarely sells itself, businesses often need to invest in international marketing and promotion to generate sales for their products internationally. Through the Export Market Development Grants(EDMG) scheme, the Australian Government provides financial assistance to encourage small to medium businesses to enter global value chains and develop export markets. The EMDG can reimburse up to 50% of your company’s eligible overseas marketing expenses. Eligible companies can claim up to $770,000 as a cash grant across 8 years of claiming Export Market Development expenses.

The scheme is not limited to small to medium businesses that export goods. In fact, around 70% of EMDG recipients for the 2018-2019 grant year were from the services industry. If your software and tech company is delivering services or intellectual property and know-how outside of Australia or delivering services in Australia to non-residents, you may be eligible for the grant. The export of most services are considered in the scheme, some examples in the software and technology field are:

1. Delivering a platform that connects clients and offshore freelancers

2. Providing AI and other technology services abroad

3. Offering services globally through a mobile app

In the reoriented EMDG program, eligible companies who are export-ready and have a turnover of less than $20 million will receive a grant at each stage of their three-tier export journey:

Tier 1, eligible companies who are new to export will be given grants of up to $80,000 over the course of two years.

Tier 2, companies who are seeking to scale their export will be able to receive grants of up to $240,000 over three years.

Tier 3, established exporters planning to make a strategic shift will be able to receive grants up to a maximum of $450,000 in the course of three years.

Your software and tech company could be eligible to claim if it has an income of less than $20 million for the year and has spent at least $15,000 on eligible export promotional activities. Below is the list of eligible promotional activities that can be claimed under the scheme:

– Overseas representation expenses

– Marketing consultant expenses

– Marketing visits expensesFree samples expenses (or free trial/evaluation expenses for software and tech companies)

– Trade fairs, seminars, in-store promotions expenses

– Promotional literature and advertising expenses

– Overseas buyers expenses

– Registration and/or insurance of eligible intellectual property expenses

We at Innercode with our EMDG partners can help you assess whether your export promotional activities are eligible under the EMDG scheme. By having the right advice and insights straightaway, you can be sure of maximising your EMDG claim. Our partners will lodge your application on behalf of your company and support you throughout the entire EMDG assessment process. Through the streamlined process of analysing EMDG claims, we are confident that we can help you determine your eligible export promotion-related expenses in just a few hours of your time.