If you’re a woman running or founding a business in South Australia, there’s a state-government grant program worth knowing about: the FoundHer Grant Program. It offers a total of $110,000 across five grants to help women-led businesses grow. This guide explains, in plain language, what it is, who it’s for, and what you need to know before you apply, including an important deadline warning.
What is the FoundHer Grant Program?
The FoundHer Grant Program is a South Australian Government initiative that funds women founders and women-led businesses to help them grow and scale. It’s delivered in partnership with Women in Innovation, and it sits inside a bigger, longer-running South Australian commitment called the Women in Business Program, an eight-year, $8 million investment by the SA Government to support women in business through several different streams (Advisory, Foundations, Connecting Women in Business, and FoundHer).
FoundHer itself was previously known as the Fearless Innovator Grant Program, so if you’ve seen that name mentioned anywhere, it’s the same program under a new name.
In plain terms: this is money the South Australian Government is giving directly to women-owned or women-led businesses, with no requirement to pay it back, to help them take a genuine next step, whether that’s proving a new growth idea works, or expanding into new markets.
How much funding is available?
The program offers two types of grants, totalling $110,000:
- Four “Launch Grants” of $20,000 each, aimed at businesses that want to validate a growth opportunity, strengthen their position in the market, and get ready to scale up.
- One “FoundHer Elevate Grant” of $30,000, aimed at a high-growth, women-led business that’s ready to expand into national or international markets.
That means five grants will be awarded in total this round: four at $20,000 and one at $30,000.
There is no funding available above these five grants. This isn’t an open-ended pool where every eligible applicant gets something. It is a competitive process with a fixed number of winners.
Who qualifies?
Based on the official program information, the FoundHer Grant Program is open to women founders and women-led businesses based in South Australia. The Elevate Grant specifically targets businesses already showing “high-growth” potential that are looking to expand into national or international markets, while the four Launch Grants are aimed at businesses at an earlier stage of validating and strengthening their growth plans.
A note on transparency: the official program pages we checked confirm the eligibility described above, but they do not spell out every detailed criterion on the public overview pages: things like specific turnover thresholds, how long your business needs to have been trading, whether sole traders qualify the same way as companies, or exact ABN/ACN requirements aren’t stated on the pages we could access. Rather than guess, we’re flagging this clearly: before you apply, check the full eligibility criteria and application guidelines on the official FoundHer Grant Program page, because that’s where the fine print will be spelled out in full.
Who does NOT qualify?
The official pages don’t publish a specific list of exclusions. What we can say with confidence, based on what is stated:
- Businesses based outside South Australia are very unlikely to qualify, since this is explicitly a South Australian Government program for SA-based women founders.
- Businesses that aren’t women-led or women-founded would not fit the program’s stated purpose.
- If you’re chasing the Elevate Grant specifically, it’s described as being for a “high-growth” business ready for national or international expansion, so an early-stage business that hasn’t yet found its footing locally may be a better fit for one of the four Launch Grants instead.
Anything beyond this (for example, specific industry exclusions, if any) is not stated on the pages we reviewed, so we’re not going to guess. Check directly with the program if your situation is unclear.
What can the funding be used for?
The two grant types have slightly different purposes, based directly on the official program description:
- Launch Grants ($20,000 each): intended to help a business “validate growth opportunities, strengthen market presence and prepare to scale.” In practical terms, this is the kind of funding you might use to test whether a new product line, service, or market segment actually has demand, to invest in the marketing and positioning that gets your business noticed, or to build the internal capability (systems, staff, processes) you’ll need before you can grow further.
- FoundHer Elevate Grant ($30,000): intended to support a high-growth, women-led business to “expand into national or international markets.” This is squarely aimed at businesses that have already proven their model locally and are ready to take the next real step outward: think export market entry costs, national distribution setup, or the operational groundwork needed to sell beyond South Australia.
Key dates:
This is the single most important part of this guide, so we’re putting it up front: applications close at 11:59pm ACST on Friday, 14 August 2026.
If you’re reading this close to that date, time is very short. Don’t wait. Go straight to the application portal today if you intend to apply.
Successful applicants will be announced on Friday, 6 November 2026, at the Women in Innovation Awards event.
If the deadline has already passed by the time you’re reading this: this program (and its predecessor, the Fearless Innovator Grant Program) has run before under South Australia’s broader Women in Business Program, so a future round is a reasonable possibility, even though nothing has been officially confirmed for next year at the time of writing. Bookmark the official FoundHer Grant Program page and check back, or look at the alternative funding options below in the meantime.
Documents you may need to prepare
The official pages we checked don’t publish a specific checklist of required documents. As a general rule of thumb for this type of competitive state-government business grant, applicants are commonly asked to prepare things like a description of their business and growth plans, evidence of being women-led or women-founded, and some form of business registration detail (such as an ABN). We want to be upfront that this list is a general guide only, not a confirmed requirement for FoundHer. The real, binding list of what you need will be inside the official application form and guidelines, which is the only place you should rely on for exact requirements.
Common mistakes to avoid
Even without the full guidelines in front of you, there are some sensible, general steps that improve almost any competitive grant application:
- Don’t leave it to the last minute. With such a tight window, technical issues (a slow upload, a locked-out account, a form that needs information you don’t have on hand) can cost you the whole opportunity. Start your application well before the deadline.
- Match your ask to the right grant. If your business is still testing its growth idea, apply for a Launch Grant rather than the Elevate Grant. The Elevate Grant is explicitly for high-growth businesses ready to expand nationally or internationally, and a mismatched application is unlikely to succeed.
- Be specific, not generic. Vague statements about “growing the business” are far less persuasive than a clear, concrete plan: what you’ll do with the money, what outcome you expect, and how you’ll measure success.
- Don’t skip the fine print. Since full eligibility and document requirements sit inside the official guidelines rather than the public overview pages, read those guidelines properly before you start, so you don’t invest time in an application you’re not eligible for.
How competitive is this grant likely to be?
With only five grants available across the whole of South Australia (four at $20,000 and one at $30,000), this is a genuinely competitive, limited-place program, not a “every eligible business gets funded” scheme. We don’t have official applicant numbers to quote, so we won’t invent a precise competitiveness estimate. What we can say plainly: a fixed pool of five grants state-wide means you should treat this as a competitive process worth putting real effort into, not a formality.
What to prepare before you apply
- Confirm you fit the program. Read the official FoundHer Grant Program page and application guidelines in full, and decide honestly whether a Launch Grant or the Elevate Grant is the right fit for your stage of growth.
- Get your business basics in order. Have your business registration details, a clear summary of what your business does, and evidence of women-led/women-founded status ready to go.
- Write a clear, specific growth plan. Focus on what you’ll actually do with the funding and what result you expect. This is normally the heart of any competitive grant assessment.
- Apply as early as possible given the very short window remaining, and don’t submit at the last minute in case of technical delays.
Related funding options for women-led and small businesses
If the FoundHer Grant Program’s deadline has passed, or your business is based outside South Australia, there are other funding pathways worth exploring for women in business, including grant programs that operate in other states and nationally. If you’re at an earlier startup stage more broadly, it’s also worth looking into entrepreneurs programs and other small business grants for women that may currently be open in your state.
Not sure yet which type of grant actually fits your business? Grants Assist’s eligibility assessment tool is a good starting point to quickly narrow down realistic options based on your situation, rather than reading through dozens of individual grant pages one by one.
The bottom line
The FoundHer Grant Program is a real, currently-open (at time of writing) South Australian Government grant offering $110,000 across five grants (four $20,000 Launch Grants and one $30,000 Elevate Grant) for women founders and women-led businesses in South Australia, closing 11:59pm ACST on 14 August 2026. It’s part of a larger $8 million, eight-year state commitment to women in business, so even outside this specific round, it’s a program worth keeping on your radar.
Need help figuring out which grants actually apply to your business? Grants Assist helps Australian business owners cut through the noise and find the funding that genuinely fits their situation. Explore more grant guides and tools at Grants Assist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much funding does the FoundHer Grant Program offer?
The program offers $110,000 in total: four Launch Grants of $20,000 each, and one FoundHer Elevate Grant of $30,000.
Who can apply for the FoundHer Grant Program?
Women founders and women-led businesses based in South Australia. Full detailed eligibility criteria are set out in the official program guidelines, which applicants should check directly.
When does the FoundHer Grant Program close?
Applications close at 11:59pm ACST on Friday, 14 August 2026.
When will successful applicants be announced?
Successful applicants will be announced on Friday, 6 November 2026, at the Women in Innovation Awards.
What can the FoundHer grant money be used for?
Launch Grants are intended to help validate growth opportunities, strengthen market presence, and prepare to scale. The Elevate Grant is intended to support a high-growth, women-led business to expand into national or international markets.
