Established by the Victorian Government along with First State Super, the statewide fund will take an equity stake in businesses, rather than providing a grant.
All investment decisions will be made solely by fund managers Roc Partners, which will back businesses based on a set of eligibility criteria formed in collaboration with the government and First State Super.
The fund will support permanent, high-skilled jobs in priority areas of the economy; jobs that improve workforce diversity, jobs for people that have been unemployed or have a harder time gaining employment and jobs for people trying to reskill and for apprentices.
Businesses for consideration must have an annual revenue of between $5 million and $100 million, no more than than $250 million in assets and positive cash flow.
Committee for Greater Shepparton chief executive Sam Birrell said he would be working with businesses to determine eligibility.
“It's challenging at the moment because businesses are wanting to see how the economy will play out over the next six months in the wake of COVID-19,” he said.
“Businesses will want to determine what returns are expected, what risk profile is involved and what the timeline is.
“It's certainly an option though.”
● Businesses can get in contact with Roc Partners to express interest at www.rocp.com/contact