Launch Pad Women & Multicultural Program

The Women & Multicultural Program is an entrepreneurial skills training program that provides training and development skills and opportunities to attract more diverse founders and business owners into the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

We envisage to run monthly training or development event workshops from March 2023 until June 2024 across Western Sydney venues or online.

We are offering a variety of workshops on a number of topics that aim to upskill women and multicultural people to enter the entrepreneurship lifecycle with relevant knowledge, skills and business confidence. All workshops and events will be taught by leading experts and established entrepreneurs.

Event workshops include:

• Building your personal brand
• Mastering professional networking
• Pitching ideas with confidence
• Optimising Your Personal Performance
• Speed mentoring
• Digital tools to grow your business 
• Ways to fund your ideas

Western Sydney University’s Launch Pad is a Tech Startup Incubator operating since 2015. Launch Pad was established to enable the growth of a startup community in Western Sydney and drive the development of a sophisticated innovation ecosystem for the region. The Women & Multicultural Entrepreneur Skills Training Program is led by Entrepreneur in Residence Lucy Lin and is a proud initiative of Launch Pad to attract and upskill diverse founders and business owners from the Western Sydney region. For more information:

• Launch Pad
• Startup Accelerator Programs
• Ignition Accelerator
• Side Hustle Series
• Western Sydney University

This program is open to everyone to attend, but we are specifically targeting Women and/or Multicultural students, alumni and members from the Western Sydney community who as individuals identify as a woman, and/or as multicultural, and who have an innovative business idea or idea for a startup. The term multicultural refers to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD).

Launch Pad recognises the challenges and barriers faced by women and multicultural entrepreneurs and have therefore designed workshops, events and online learning specific to their needs. Event workshops include networking, personal branding, mentoring and learning from founders and their journeys.  

The intention of this Program and the grant is to support innovation for women and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals. The following definitions help to clarify what we mean by these terms:

1. People who identify as women. The term “women*” is used to promote inclusiveness and respect to all individuals who identify as women. The asterisk acknowledges that some individuals may identify outside the traditional gender binary and represents the diversity of experiences and identities within the group of “women*”. By using this term, we aim to create a welcoming and accepting environment for all women* identifying individuals.

2. People who identify as being a part of the CALD community; people of non-English speaking background, people born outside of Australia and people whose first language is not English. Western Sydney University (WSU) acknowledges the complexities of ancestry that mean some individuals in a community may identify as CALD while other may not.

In the application, you will be asked to outline to what extent you identify with one or both of these terms.

The Side Hustle series is a set of 4 workshops; each one is a day and a half long. These workshops are aimed at upskilling students to kick start their side hustle as an alternative source of income.

• Show it: video platforms (eg. YouTube, Tik Tok)
• Say it: content (eg. Podcast, vodcast)
• Sell it: e-commerce (eg. Setting up your online store)
• Serve it: service industry (eg. Setting up an online course)

They are taught by our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and are designed to be practical, hands on, intensive workshops. Side Hustle Series will commence in July 2023 and for more information, visit: https://launchpadlive.com.au/side-hustle-series/

The Women and Multicultural Program refers to a specific collection of entrepreneurial focused learning packages plus the option to apply for a grant. The grant amount that you can apply for is dependent on which learning package you take: Package 1 or Package 2.

Package 1: $10,000.00 grant – Community & student

To be eligible, you must complete:

(1) Ignition Accelerator in cohort 4 (2023) or cohort 5 (2024) or 6 (2024)

(2) three Launch Pad Women & Multicultural event workshops in 2023 or 2024

(3) the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Online Module

(4) register for the online community

And you

(5) identify as a Woman* and/or Multicultural* individual, and

(6) are a Western Sydney resident OR current Western student.

In other words, you must reside in Western Sydney (defined as consisting of 14 Local Government Areas: Auburn Council, City of Bankstown, City of Blacktown, City of Blue Mountains, Camden Council, City of Campbelltown, City of Fairfield, City of Hawkesbury, City of Holroyd, City of Liverpool, City of Parramatta, City of Penrith, and Wollondilly Shire). More info here.

Application dates:

There are 3 rounds each open for 3 weeks at a time in

• November 2023
• May 2024 (TBC)
• September 2024 (TBC)

Package 2: $1,000.00 – WSU student

To be eligible, you must complete:

(1) 1 Side Hustle Series workshop

(2) identify as Women* and/or Multicultural*, and

(3) you are a current Western Sydney University student.

Application dates:

There are 4 rounds each open for 2 weeks at a time. Each round coincides with the date of the Side Hustle Series workshop. 

You will only be rewarded for one grant from Package 1 and/or Package 2, the one with the highest value at the time of application. If you have been awarded one grant, you will not be eligible for other Women & Multicultural grants. This is to ensure that the grants are available to a broad range of applicants.

Submitted applications will be reviewed and applicants will be selected based on their written application, their ability to meet the criteria and, for the Community & Student grant, performance in an interview before a selection panel. We will endeavor to notify applicants of the outcome of their application within one month post application date closure.

There are 3 steps in the application process:

Step 1 

Access the application form during the application date window. Select either Package 1 $10,000 Community and Student; or Package 2 $1,000 – WSU Student. Review the selection criteria.

Step 2 

Check that you are eligible for the grant. Review resources to help you write your application. For example, the assessment criteria for the Community & Student grant is similar to writing how you meet the selection criteria for a job or scholarship. This video provides a guide to writing a personal statement.

Step 3  

Submit your application before the communicated closing date. On successfully submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email. It is strongly recommended that you review your answers before submitting your application as you will not be able to make any changes once submitted. Read the criteria to find out what and how to submit your supporting documentation. Ensure to submit your application by the due dates as late applications won’t be accepted. 

Applications will be assessed after the relevant closing date. Please note, some grants require applicants to attend an interview, and in this case, you will be contacted directly. All applicants will receive an email sent to the email address in your application. 

Each grant has a selection criteria and the grant is awarded to the applicant who best meets this criteria. Selection for the Package 1: $10,000 Community & Student grant involves an interview with a selection panel. Criteria can include: merit, personal attributes, performance at interview or a combination of selection criteria. 

Once the applications have been assessed and the outcomes are known all applicants are notified via email. In the majority of cases, offers are made within four weeks of the grant closing date. In exceptional circumstances this may take longer. 

An official offer and grant acceptance/agreement email will be sent to you. Once you have read the grant Terms and Conditions and if you agree to them, you must complete and return the agreement form and the payment request form to Launch Pad by the date indicated in your offer letter. If the agreement is not received by the due date, it may be assumed that you do not wish to accept the grant and it will be offered to another applicant. 

When and how do I receive payment for my grant? 

We envisage to transfer grant payments within approximately eight weeks after receipt of the grant acceptance/agreement. Payment is made in the form of electronic funds transfer (EFT) directly deposited into a nominated bank account. 

Will my grant affect my eligibility for Department of Human Services benefits? 

If you need advice on whether your grant will affect your Department of Human Services benefits, refer to the Department of Human Services website.

Will my grant have taxation implications? 

If you have a question about how your grant will affect your taxable income, you need to seek advice from your financial adviser in regards to your own personal circumstances. Additional information is available from the Australian Taxation Office. 

In what circumstances can my grant be terminated? 

Your grant will be terminated if: 

• You cease to meet the eligibility criteria; or
• Once the full quota of payments for the grant have been paid; or
• If you are found guilty of misconduct.

If you are aggrieved with a decision, in the first instance seek explanatory feedback from the Launch Pad team. If you are dissatisfied with the explanation required, you can make an appeal within 15 working days of the termination of your grant. 

• These guidelines are correct at the time of publishing.
• For further information, or should you have any questions regarding the Women & Multicultural Program, please contact launchpad@westernsydney.edu.au