BEC Australia, of which we are part, was not successful with the tender for round 2 of the ASBAS program. The ASBAS program started in 2018, and in a strange way you could almost say that it cannibalised our offering. Prior to it, our membership included 1-1 business advice and that was the mainstay of our income, along with in person networking events for members. Then along came the ASBAS program and we offered business advice at no cost to the business. Then came lock downs and Covid, and live events were off the agenda too. The ASBAS grant kept us going through the last 3 years of Covid, and we knew the current round of the ASBAS program was due to end on the 31st of March. What we had not foreseen, especially after meeting and exceeding our targets and getting great feedback, was that we would not be successful in our tender for the new round two of ASBAS starting on the 1st of April. But here we are, and without that funding we cannot continue to keep our doors open. We are incredibly sad and disappointed to say the least. We are truly passionate about helping small businesses, and we loved the fact that the grant enabled us to help so many small businesses with business advice and webinars, with over 1000 small businesses assisted over the past few years. We bid you farewell and wish you all the best in your business ventures. The Bayside BEC Team