Act I — Still water

A black swan can’t lift off from a standstill. It runs on the water first. This program is the run-up.

Eligibility: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander founders, co-founders or founding-team members who live in NSW or operate an NSW-based business; are at ideation, pre-revenue or early-revenue stage; and are developing an innovation-intensive product, service or business model. The proposed 12-week program combines mentoring, peer-yarning, practical workshops and 12 months of aftercare.

$150,000 per year in Start & Grow micro-grantsProgram-wide support. Selected participants can apply for up to $2,500 per participant per year towards eligible costs. Assessed against need and the approved guidelines; not guaranteed.Explore participation-cost support ↓

Cohort 1 applications are now closed Proposed: 28 Sep–18 Dec 2026 Applications closed: 11:59 pm AEST · 20 Sep 2026 About 8 hours each week

Cohort 1 applications closed on 20 September 2026. Register interest for a future cohort; any offer, proposed dates and final delivery arrangements remain subject to written confirmation by Investment NSW.

60-second bearings check

Where are you on the water?

Have you talked to potential customers or community about the idea yet?

Do you have an offer, pricing or first sales taking shape?

Are you preparing for a grant, accelerator or investment conversation?

Your likely starting point

A guide only — nothing is recorded and no answer is used as an automated selection score.

$150,000per yearCommitted to Start & Grow micro-grants across the program.

This is program-wide support, not a funding allocation exclusively for Cohort 1.

Help with the costs of taking part

Start & Grow
micro-grants

Your idea deserves support. So do you.

Up to $2,500per participant per year, subject to assessment.

Alongside mentoring, practical workshops and peer support, selected participants can apply for Start & Grow micro-grants of up to $2,500 per participant per year towards eligible costs such as childcare, travel, digital tools, prototyping and registration fees.

Support for eligible costs such as

Childcare
Travel
Digital tools
Prototyping
Registration fees

Assessed support — not an automatic payment

Requests are assessed against need and the approved grant guidelines. Funding is not automatic or guaranteed.

First, apply for the pre-accelerator. If selected, you can apply separately for Start & Grow support. Your program application is not a micro-grant request or a promise of funding.

Act II — The run

Twelve weeks of gathering speed.

Each marker lights as you pass it. Open one to see what you walk away with.

WEEK 01

Idea clarity and founder goals

Name the problem, who it affects and why it matters to customers or community.

Walk away with
A clear problem statement
Founder goals on paper

WEEK 03

Customer, community and problem testing

Map assumptions, plan simple interviews and learn what people actually need.

Walk away with
An assumption map
An interview plan
First real feedback

WEEK 06

Business model, pricing and support needs

Shape the offer, pricing, delivery model and the support needed to make it viable.

Walk away with
A tested business model
Pricing you can explain

WEEK 09

Storytelling, pitch and pathway preparation

Strengthen the founder story, pitch structure and confidence explaining the opportunity.

Walk away with
A founder story that lands
A pitch structure

WEEK 12

Roadmap, next support and warm connections

Build the practical next-step plan — priorities, milestones and support gaps.

Walk away with
A next-step roadmap
Mentor and peer connections

+12 MONTHS

Aftercare — the run keeps going

Follow-up support, pathway connections and momentum long after the last workshop.

Walk away with
Ongoing support
Pathway connections

Online-accessible Day or evening where possible Regional outreach Conditional Start & Grow pathway

Barayamal mini accelerator workshop with First Nations founders — Mini-accelerator workshop, 2023

Act III — Lift

What founders climb out with.

The expected outcomes, straight from the program design.

A clearer problem statement and customer or community understanding.

A simple tested business model and practical next-step roadmap.

Stronger storytelling, pitch confidence and market positioning.

Mentor, peer and ecosystem connections.

Clearer pathways into accelerators, grants, funding or further support.

Barayamal Give Backathon community group photo — Give Backathon community, 2019

Barayamal Accelerator 2019 highlights video

2019 highlights — watch on YouTube ↗

40+at Australia’s first Indigenous Startup Weekend

5startups in the first accelerator cohort

2national awards for the work

Barayamal Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 11919) — registered charity + DGR, backing First Nations entrepreneurship since 2017. ABN ↗ · ACNC ↗

Current public intake status

Cohort 1 applications closed at 11:59 pm AEST on Sunday, 20 September 2026. Submitted applications are being reviewed. Join the future-cohort EOI for updates.
Twelve-week delivery is proposed for Monday, 28 September to Friday, 18 December 2026, followed by 12 months of aftercare.
Approximately eight hours each week includes about five hours self-paced, one 90-minute peer-yarning session, about one hour of mentoring and applied founder work.
Start & Grow support is separately assessed, limited and not guaranteed. Final public guidelines will apply.

Approval status

Final program dates and the accelerated selection process remain subject to written Investment NSW approval.
Individual Start & Grow arrangements remain subject to approved guidelines and separate assessment.
Applying does not guarantee selection. Offers are issued only after eligibility, independent assessment and moderation.

Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026 — Cohort 1 intake closed; proposed delivery dates remain subject to written approval

Pre-flight check.

Tick what applies — a guide only, nothing is submitted.

I identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. I am a founder, co-founder or founding-team member at ideation, pre-revenue or early-revenue stage. I live in NSW or my business operates from NSW. I am developing an innovation-intensive product, service or business model. I could join a 12-week program if timing and access support are workable. I am open to mentoring, peer-yarning and follow-up aftercare.

Signal 0/6

Most founders are a better fit than they think.

“Should I wait for a full accelerator?”

This pre-acceleratorMeets you at idea or early stage — clarify, test, decide the next step.

A typical full acceleratorExpects a working product and traction — scale, raise, deliver.

You leave withEvidence, a tested model, a roadmap and warm connections.

You arrive withExactly those things. That is why the run-up comes first.

Future cohorts Register interest in a future cohort

Act IV — Airborne

Where the run leads.

Aftercare connects founders onward — and these Barayamal pathways are live today, before the cohort even starts.

Self-check

Every run-up needs people on the bank.

Mentors, industry partners, referral organisations — mentoring, introductions, workshop support, technical advice and regional referral pathways all move founders forward.

Offer mentor or partner support eMentoring pathway

Audience at a Barayamal Demo Day for Indigenous entrepreneurs

Start your run-up.

Cohort 1 applications closed on 20 September 2026. Register interest for updates on future cohorts.

Questions about the closed intake? Contact Barayamal. Interested in a future intake? Join the future-cohort EOI. Any offer and all proposed dates remain conditional on written confirmation by Investment NSW.

Email a founder

Delivered by Barayamal with support from the NSW Government’s Diversity Pre-Accelerator Program. Proposed program dates remain subject to written Investment NSW approval. Applying does not guarantee selection or Start & Grow support.

First Nations Pre-Accelerator