A new report, published last week by Meshpoints (funded by Lotterywest) has plotted over 15,000 data points in the WA innovation ecosystem, over the past ten years.
“As this report demonstrates,” said the Chair of Meshpoints Stewards Nicole Lockwood, “there has been a rapid expansion of activity in the Western Australian innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem over the last 10 years.
From early foundations laid by passionate groups like [Perth] Morning Startup and new ideas forming at 54-hour Startup Weekends, to early accelerator programs driving tangible growth, the ecosystem now represents a diverse array of empowering mechanisms for innovations, entrepreneurs and change-makers.
Nicole Lockwood, Chair Meshpoints Stewards
The headline stats are:
- Increase in ecosystem activity x6.5 over past ten years (2013-2022)
- Gender diversity is improving: female participation up from 27% to 47% (2017-2022)
- Innovation activity occurring in 201 postcodes: that’s up 278% since 2017
- 1,577 different organisations, startups and government agencies make up the ecosystem: 3x more than in 2017
- 11,900+ people employed in the startup sector: up from 2,500 in 2017
- 665 verified startups, with a combined valuation of $5.4 billion (up x8 since 2017)
- $220M invested in startups in 2022: up 338% since 2017
- Largest startup sectors: ag, education, tourism, social impact, manufacturing, health and medtech (resources is 11th)
The report is a combination of 12 months work from Spacecubed, looking at all the events, programs and organisations involved. The funding and valuation data is from Dealroom WA.
We hope [the report] serves as an opportunity to remind ourselves that collaboration, community and connection are how we drive progress forward, and there are still many opportunities for improvement.
Brodie McCulloch, Spacecubed
Some readers will remember major ecosystem reports published in 2013, 2015 and 2019. Now, we have an online database, which can be interrogated and ‘played with’, to your heart’s delight.
If you or your organisation are on there, you can claim the profile (as you can on Dealroom), or request anonymity, as preferred.
You can request a download of the full written report here, and gain access to the beta of the real-time ecosystem version here.
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