The City of Melbourne has announced a new startup incubator and accelerator space that will open in the Melbourne CBD.
The Jiangsu-Victoria Innovation Centre will not only provide startups access to coaching, universities, research institutes and the Chinese-based Suzhou accelerator space to expand their reach into Asia, but they will also benefit from the $80 million in financial support being provided to run the centre. These funds will be used to facilitate access to angel investment and fund project developments over three years.
“This Jiangsu-Victoria Innovation Centre will nurture the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to go on to great things,” said acting Lord Mayor Arron Wood.
“The incubation space will provide expert business development guidance and the potential to export ideas to the world.”
This announcement is the latest in a string of commendations for the state. A recent report documented the burgeoning startup ecosystem, showing that it was not confined to the Melbourne CBD. Stone & Chalk also recently announced an expansion into Melbourne by way of agtech accelerator SproutX.
“Melbourne is now home to 170 co-working spaces, which is one measure of a healthy startup community,” said Wood.
“The recent launch of our Startup Action Plan shows we’re serious about playing our role. Add to this the Jiangsu-Victoria Innovation Centre and it makes for exciting times for new and innovative businesses and business models.”
The innovation centre is being opened by the City of Melbourne in partnership with the Jiangsu-Suzhou Science and Technology Town, RMIT University, the University of Melbourne, the Victorian government and the Australia-China Association of Scientists and Entrepreneurs (ACASE).
The first group of startups to occupy the space will include those developing intelligent clothing, smart alarms and third-party brain MRI imaging. They will be chosen from the ACASE Sunan Cup competition winners earlier in the year.
Source: New Melbourne startup incubator to open with $80m in financial support | finder.com.au
