Western Australian startup accelerator and coworking space Spacecubed has been given $5.9 million from the state’s Lotterywest organisation to fund two new grants programs and continue its work supporting startups and other innovators.
Spacecubed will launch two grants programs with the Lotterywest money, as well as fund an innovation network and a research project into the innovation landscape in Western Australia. This is under its Innovative Society Initiative.
Innovation and ICT Minister Stephen Dawson praised Spacecubed for their support of startups in Western Australia.
“Spacecubed is a very impressive WA organisation playing a key role in giving our local innovation sector the support and guidance they need to succeed. Spacecubed is an excellent choice as the recipient of the Lotterywest grant which will provide a major boost to WA’s innovation ecosystem,” Mr Dawson said.
“This new support will feed into the work of the $16.7 million New Industries Fund, which has been supporting entrepreneurs and innovators since 2017.”
Spacecubed will use the money to launch its Innovative Society Fund, which will support startups over the next ten years. This will include the Catalyst Fund, which will award grants between $20,000 – $100,000 to support innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Catalyst Fund operates through two streams. The first supports “programs, projects, or events that will enhance Western Australia’s capacity for innovation”, while the second supports “projects or initiatives that deliver better outcomes for Western Australia”, according to Spacecubed.
When implemented, grant recipients must match the grant with equal or greater support from a third party. The initiative opens for applications in September with funding rounds open every three months.
For organisations operating existing innovation incubation and accelerator programs or services LotteryWest IdeaStarter will make grants of up to $15,000 available per participant. Similarly, funding opens every three months beginning this month.
Eligible expenditure for both initiatives does not cover rent support or costs of accessing a coworking space. The full list of eligible expenditure for the funds can be found here.
Spacecubed will also undertake research into the Western Australian innovation landscape and to investigate the extent of the creation of an “innovative society” through the Innovative Society Index initiative.
Also receiving funding is Meshpoints, a network which will provide a “community, governance structure and facilitator support” to promote innovation in Western Australian.
The announcement was made on Thursday to celebrate the organisation’s tenth anniversary. Spacecubed was founded in 2012 with the help of a $200,000 Lottery west grant. It now has 6,638 member companies from the Western Australian community.
Spacecubed founder and managing director Brodie McCulloch said the grant would improve the organisation’s support for innovation in Western Australia.
“This Lotterywest grant allows Spacecubed to take what we have learnt over the last ten years and give greater support to the whole innovation ecosystem, as we proactively and intentionally grow our collective impact to support innovative ideas across Western Australia,” Mr McCulloch.
“The collaborative approach to the project is specifically designed to ensure that new ideas are supported at all stages and there is support available for ideas across the state, while the impact of this support is measured over time to assist in attracting additional funding.”
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.