Queensland's Female Founders Co-Investment Fund is open for eligible female-founded businesses undertaking a new pre-seed or seed capital raise. It is not a general operating grant for any business with a female founder.
The official listing describes funding between $50,000 and $200,000. It shows a closing date of 30 June 2027 but also states that applications remain open only until available funds have been allocated. That funding-availability qualification is important.
The capital raise is central
Applicants need more than a future ambition to seek investment. The program is designed to support eligible Queensland businesses that are approaching new eligible investment entities within the relevant period or have secured an eligible offer of investment.
A credible application should therefore connect the grant request to a real capital-raise plan and explain how the combined funding will help scale the business.
Questions to resolve early
Before preparing an application, verify:
- whether the business meets the program's female-founder ownership and leadership requirements
- whether the business and its operations satisfy the Queensland connection rules
- whether the product, service or business model fits the innovation and growth intent
- whether the proposed investor is an eligible investment entity
- whether the investment is genuinely new and on eligible terms
- the required relationship between private investment and grant funding
- what expenditure and scaling activities the program will support
- whether the raise and project can proceed within the required timing
Do not assume that money from any related party, existing shareholder or informal lender will qualify as eligible co-investment.
Build an investor-ready evidence pack
The application and capital raise should tell the same commercial story. Useful preparation may include:
- current company and ownership records
- founder and leadership biographies
- cap table
- product and intellectual-property position
- market and customer evidence
- financial model and use of funds
- investor pipeline or written offer
- valuation and proposed investment terms
- project milestones and scaling outcomes
- risks and governance controls
All figures should reconcile across the pitch, financial model, investment documents and grant application.
Timing is not only the published date
A nominal 2027 closing date does not mean a business can safely wait. The official listing says the program may close when funds are fully allocated. Businesses should check the live Advance Queensland page before beginning a detailed application or relying on the fund in a capital-raise timetable.
Treat the grant and raise as one transaction plan
The strongest preparation maps each funding source to the activities, milestones and runway it enables. The final eligibility decision rests with the administering body, and legal, tax and investment advice may be needed for the raise itself. Grant-writing support does not replace that advice.