// The new $15M fund is just a start, with more investor partnerships to come, organisers say
At the 2019 UWA Fogarty Scholars’ Leaders Series Breakfast held earlier this week, Annie Fogarty AM announced the establishment of the Scholars Enterprise Investment Program, which son Mitch Fogarty, Executive Director of 3rd Wave Capital, will lead.
The program will provide $15m of investment capital over the foreseeable future to tech-focused enterprises which have Fogarty scholars or alumni in leadership roles.
The UWA Fogarty Scholarship program started in 2004, and was first-of-its-kind in Australia. Back then the smartphone didn’t exist, nor did Uber (Facebook launched that year), Google listed on the NASDAQ and China was the world’s 6th largest economy. Today, it’s the world’s second largest economy and has grown seven-fold.
The Foundation believes in that in order to strengthen the community, there is a need to invest and empower high performing young people to create the opportunities of the future, such as the Fogarty scholars. But you don’t need to be a scholar yourself; you just need to have one of them in your team.
Moreover, the $15M commitment is only a beginning. Over time, the Fogarty family is looking to partner and co-invest with leading industry investors, high net worths and VC firms across Australia.
The Fine Print
Potential investee enterprises must:
- Have at least one UWA Fogarty scholar or alumni in a principal position;
- Be technology focused and have scalable revenue models;
- Be seeking ‘Series A’ type funding, where they are able to display measurable traction (i.e. engaged users, revenue, and attractive unit economics); and
- Have large addressable markets with potential for global revenue and impact.
It’s anticipated that up to four or five new companies a year will receive investment through this program, as well as select follow-on investments.
To learn more about the Fogarty Scholarship program, visit their website, where you can also download a brochure showing all the 150 or so previous scholars.
Interested in knowing more? Feel free to reach out to Mitch Fogarty.
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Main Image: Annie Fogarty with some Fogarty Scholars (Supplied.)
