// Announced at the opening of this week’s West Tech Fest, Innovation Minister Dave Kelly announced $160K in support for WA’s startup advocacy group…
Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly announced at this week’s West Tech Fest that the McGowan Government would partner with startup advocacy organisation StartupWA over the next two years.
$160,000 of funding will be provided over two years to facilitate a series of summits aimed at showcasing local talent and startups as well as helping them access the opportunities they need to grow their business in Western Australia.
The summits will be targeted at new opportunities for local early-stage businesses and start-ups, with a particular focus on female-led, Aboriginal and regional businesses.
The funding will also be used to engage a part-time employee at Startup WA to manage events and strengthen the organisation’s ability to support the local startup ecosystem.
The funding comes from the $16.7 million New Industries Fund which was established to support and accelerate new and emerging businesses to diversify the Western Australian economy and create new WA jobs.
“Supporting startups, emerging businesses and small enterprises to scale up or become investor-ready is important for the growth and diversification of our economy and creating WA jobs,” said Minister Kelly.
“Local startup companies have the initiative and drive to grow the Western Australian economy, and we want to empower these startups to remain in the State.”
Minister Dave Kelly
StartupWA is a non-profit organisation that advocates for WA to be recognised as a global hub for entrepreneurial and technological talent.
Chair Tom Goerke also addressed the West Tech Fest conference, acknowledging the new funding and imploring the state to diversify its economy.
“47% of the WA economy is mining and resources,” said Tom. “If WA was a company, then the board would be asking questions about why it had such a huge reliance on one income stream.”
“We simply have to diversify our local economy.”
Tom Goerke, Chair, StartupWA
Other supporters of the 2021 StartupWA summit series include Minderoo Generation One, City of Perth, AiGroup, MeshPoints, Curtin University, AICD WA, AgriStart, Atomic Sky, Spacecubed, Perth Angels, WiTWA (Women in Technology WA), South West Angels and Techboard.
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Feature Photo: Tom Goerke at WestTechFest.
The New Industries Fund is a sponsor of Startup News.
To learn more about the New Industries Fund, visit http://www.wa.gov.au/new-industries-fund, for more about StartupWA, visit https://www.startupwa.org or for information about West Tech Fest, visit https://www.westtechfest.com.
