Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Founder & Startup Support Programme - Deep Technology Incubator Pilot (RFP)

This is a Request for Proposals (RFP) listing.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) administers the Founder and Startup Support Programme (FSSP), which supports high-potential startups. MBIE engages external providers to deliver startup support services through the FSSP.

MBIE is establishing the FSSP Deep Technology Incubator Pilot (Pilot) to strengthen support for deep-technology ventures and generate evidence on the effectiveness of different incubation models to inform future government investment decisions. The Pilot is distinct from the existing Deep Tech Incubator Programme.

Deep-technology ventures are founded on significant scientific or technological advancements and typically face long development timeframes, substantial capital requirements, complex commercialisation pathways, and technical, intellectual property and regulatory risks. These factors can create a gap between early-stage research support and the point at which ventures are able to attract private investment on commercial terms.

The Pilot is a time-limited initiative designed to support the commercialisation of high-potential deep-technology ventures while testing and evaluating different approaches to deep-tech incubation.

Providers will be responsible for sourcing, assessing, selecting and incubating approximately 40 eligible ventures in total across all contracts awarded through this procurement. MBIE is seeking innovative proposals for how incubation services could be delivered, rather than prescribing a single delivery model. Proposed services should help ventures reduce technical and commercial risks, strengthen entrepreneurial capability, and progress towards commercialisation and private investment.

MBIE expects the Contract to commence in mid-February 2027. The anticipated initial Contract term is one year and four months, with an option to extend for up to a further one year, resulting in a potential total term of two years and four months.

For further information about the opportunity, requirements and procurement process, please download and review the RFP documents.

MBIE will host an online supplier briefing at 9:30 am on Friday, 30 October 2026. To attend the respondent briefing session, please join using the Microsoft Teams link below.
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/447205663276150?p=SulTSlilKCBzO6gwW4