The Business Centre has received $189,500 in Australian government funding under the Incubator Support initiative for its accelerator program, Start House.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews congratulated the Business Centre and the other five national successful applicants, which will receive the funding under the $23 million initiative.
The Business Centre’s Start House is designed to develop diversity in innovation and will provide mentoring and business education to entrepreneurs across northern NSW.
The program aims to enhance business success and decrease the likelihood of failure for up to 50 high-growth potential businesses.
Working with partners in Maitland, Newcastle, the Upper Hunter and the Central Coast, the program aims to connect more diverse innovators to the opportunities in Sydney and to showcase innovators who are geographically isolated.
With the purpose of distributing diversity in innovation, the Newcastle based not-for-profit will be working across its regional footprint to deliver its program in 2019 and 2020.
Being the first not-for-profit, non-equity model to receive the funding to date, the Business Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Malou believes that Start House will address a current gap in the innovation ecosystem.
“The start-ups we work with do not fit the traditional stereotype of a founder,” Pierre said.
“This program works to break this stereotype and encourages a broad range of people to apply.”
The Incubator Support initiative is part of the Liberal National Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme. It is designed to assist new and existing incubators to improve the prospects of Australian start-ups achieving commercial success in international markets, through helping them to develop their business capabilities.
The initiative’s mission is to support entrepreneurial activity and contribute to the development of the innovation ecosystem, including in Australia’s regions.
The other recipients in the 2019 funding offers include The University of New England, Clinic Media Pty Ltd, The University of Adelaide, Vektor Innovation Pty Ltd and Agristart Pty Ltd.
IMAGE | The Business Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Malou.
