Innovation does require capital, and it needs to be patient capital at that – the pay-off for R&D can be a long time coming.
Getting bank funding or finance specifically for R&D is not easy, so in most cases R&D will need to be funded out of existing cashflow, or retained profits.
However, state and federal governments provide incentives for R&D in the form of tax breaks and grants and companies that embark on an innovation program should look to access this support where possible.
Government R&D support can assist with various parts of the innovation process, including market research, pure R&D and commercialisation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review's companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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