The Western Australian government has awarded more than $643,000 to 34 local innovative startups and small businesses as part of its Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) program, through the New Industries Fund.
30 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been awarded up to $20,000 which can be used to access professional skills, services or commercial knowledge to improve their capabilities and advance innovative activities in the state.
The remaining four recipients will be supported through separate health and medical life sciences funding, aligning with the WA government’s Health and Medical Life Sciences Industry Strategy.
This year’s cohort includes a diverse mix of innovators – 15 female founders, an Indigenous founder and four regional businesses.
Originally known as the Innovation Vouchers Program, the program was first launched in 2011 and is today part of the state government’s plan to attract investment and promote economic diversity across WA. Since launching, 233 grants have been awarded to the tune of around $3.7 million.
“The Innovation Booster Grants play a key role in supporting the McGowan Government’s focus on ensuring our home-grown innovators are recognised and financially supported to reach their potential and create jobs for Western Australians,” said Innovation and ICT Minister, Stephen Dawson.
“Supporting our local innovators and providing a helping hand is the key towards diversifying the State’s economy and creating more employment opportunities for our local workforce.”
Deputy Premier and State Development, Jobs and Trade Minister Roger Cook added the program helps to create local jobs for Western Australians.
“The IBG will also help strengthen WA’s health and medical life sciences sector by supporting startups and SMEs through commercialisation, innovation and research.
“Not only will this help these companies compete on the international stage, the program will support outcomes that help to improve the health and wellbeing of all Western Australians.”
Receiving this grant is a huge milestone for Camp Connect workforce app. Like any start-up, resources are limited with founders needing to wear many hats, with this grant giving us much needed commercialisation support.
Erin Bell speaking to Startup News this week
The recipients
- Biotome – Helitope: a precision diagnostic test for stomach cancer risk
- Camp Connect – commercialisation plan for app expansion
- Carbon Ag Solutions – recycled waste amendment that improves agricultural crops, soil carbon sequestration
- CleanSubSea Envirocart System – an in-water hull cleaning, capture and containment system
- Click Brick – recycled plastic brick that clicks together without using mortar
- Colleagues Matrixx – MatrixXchange: novel resources sector technology
- COTU Collective – COTU: connecting the leading creatives to the best briefs & opportunities
- Dark Stry – app of walking tours around Perth (read recent story)
- DiGii – individualised curriculum reporting and program extension
- Digital Process Servers – commercialisation of digital process serving
- Farm and Turf Equipment – Project Electro-Retro
- Force Hooks – AI-enabled strength monitoring solution for physiotherapy and rehabilitation
- Gene S – GeneS-Youth-MIND kit: making personalised prescription possible
- Helme – Helme’s Damper Clamp™: shock absorber for service lines
- Hemp Squared – hemp block certification for use in social housing
- Innovative Mentoring – simplify the complexity of NDIS for WA’s disability community
- Interpredata – patent security
- Leva Build – project development & prototyping of wireless house lifting jacks
- Lycaon Group – self-contained hydrogen storage and power module for industrial mobile equipment
- Markr Systems – Markr Dynamic Media
- Mineral Magic – Project Maximise Yield
- Numero Maths – Numero App
- Open Corridor Inc. – Smart City Monitor
- Pretect Devices – The IV Guardian
- Respiradigm – asthma umbilical cord blood screening test for babies
- SafenSecureCyber – cyber resilience for WA small businesses
- Scoop Digital – analytics dashboard for 10,000+ Western Australian users of localista content
- Seafasten Offshore – Seafasten GRID
- SeedCulture – MVP Development
- S5 System – bolted joints tightness and pre-tension monitoring with smart washers
- Tjuart Architects – Eco Tourist Pod Development
- Verve InfoTec – Virtual Joint Clinic
- VetChip – an electronic animal health record database to store VetChip data
- Whole Green Foods – applying enzymatic processing technology to create hemp seed milk
Congratulations to all 34 recipients, and may you go well with the next stage of your development. Go #WA #startups!
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Listen to Erin Bell’s Camp Connect startup story on Startup West podcast.
