Austrade is seeking Expressions of Interest from Australian member–based business organisations for the 2014 Asian Business Engagement (ABE) Plan grant round.

The ABE Plan was established by the Australian Government to assist member-based business organisations harness the opportunities emerging in Asia. It is focused on facilitating new initiatives to improve Australian business links into the region through these groups.

Under the scheme, grants of between $20,000 and $300,000 will be awarded on merit after a competitive application process. Organisations that applied for the recently concluded round are also encouraged to apply.

Applications for the new grant round open on 10 March and close on 8 April 2014. This will be preceded by an optional Expression of Interest (EOI) phase commencing on 10 February.

While not mandatory, the EOI phase is part of the process allowing potential applicants to receive valuable feedback prior to proceeding to the full application stage. The majority of organisations that received grants last year indicated that the EOI process helped them improve their applications.