- Cook Government commits $6.6 million to digital transformation of WA's small and medium-sized enterprises
- Funding via the Government's Local Capability Fund - Digital Transformation Round
- Grants to support costs and access to training and expertise
The digital transformation of Western Australia's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been given a $6.6 million boost from the Cook Government.
Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson said the funding was being made available over the next three years through the State Government's Local Capability Fund (LCF) - Digital Transformation Round.
The Digital Transformation Round of the LCF assists businesses to adopt and use digital and data technologies to improve their competitiveness, resilience, safety and productivity.
Earlier this year, businesses were invited to apply for up to $25,000 on a matched basis through this competitive grant round.
A total of 77 businesses, from across a range of metropolitan and regional areas, have been offered grant funding to support their digital transformation.
Funded projects include automating packaging and industrial processes, adopting digital design and fleet management technologies, and upscaling ecommerce capabilities.
Cybersecurity was a focus of many applications, with several businesses offered funding to improve their cybersecurity with audits, planning and system upgrades.
To date, the LCF has delivered more than $29 million to more than 800 businesses, including more than 440 regional businesses across a range of industries.
The LCF has generated over $1.33 billion in new contracts won by WA SMEs and has created 2,633 jobs and 339 apprenticeships to date.
For more information on the Local Capability Fund - Digital Transformation Round please visit: https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/digital-capability-and-resilience-enhanced-local-businesses .
As stated by Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The Cook Government is keen to assist Western Australian SME businesses to improve their competitiveness, resilience and productivity with the adoption of digital technologies.
"We are encouraging local businesses to take the next step with a $6.6 million support program over the next three years to enable them to undertake a digital transformation.
"Our Government's successful LCF - Digital Transformation Round unlocks this opportunity for businesses to embrace change.
"This round of the LCF supports a range of key outcomes outlined under our Digital Industries Acceleration Strategy released earlier this year.
"By supporting our SMEs to embrace digital technology, we are increasing business efficiency and increasing their opportunities to make data-driven decisions."
