The Australian government is set to establish four regional tech incubators to grow the startup and technology business ecosystems outside of capital cities.
The four incubators will cover areas including Northern Queensland, as well as Darwin, and Central and Mid-North Coast NSW, including Southern Queensland. The other two areas cover WA’s Southern region, along with South-West Victoria and South-East SA, and Tasmania.
Together with the establishment of the four incubator areas, the Commonwealth has also published an RFT calling for individuals or small corporations to act as facilitators for the entities.
The role of the facilitator is to provide guidance and feedback for organisations working within the incubator ecosystem, as well as to assist applicants for the $23 million Incubator Support Initiative. The facilitators will also assist in developing projects, and will provide links between business, government and academia.
The Incubator Support Initiative and its associated funding pool is set to be distributed by an application process. For start-ups and business initiatives being undertaken in regional areas, grants of up to $500,000 are available, so long as 80 per cent of the funded entity’s work is conducted within the associated regional area.
Along with the half-million dollar funding, incubators can also access a further $100,000 to engage experts-in-residence from either Australia or overseas.
The money can also be accessed by Australian employees of regional start-ups wanting to access overseas incubators, or to expand their network of national and international contacts.
The $100,000 additional funding is contingent on the networking and visiting being done with the goal of facilitating start-ups back in Australia.
The incubator program was originally announced as an $8 million initiative, however this funding was increased by $15 million over four years as part of the Coalition’s re-election campaign in 2016.
The incubator program was originally announced as an $8 million initiative, however this funding was increased by $15 million over four years as part of the Coalition’s re-election campaign in 2016.
InnovationAus.com is kick-starting a series on regional innovation. We welcome any tips or information that will help us bolster our coverage of industry development issues in regional Australia.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.