As part of the Founders Factory WA Nature Tech Accelerator program, a partnership between global tech investor Founders Factory and the WA Government, each enterprise will receive $50,000 in seed funding and take part in a four-month support and growth program.
It’s the first Founders Factory program in Australia, with programs already running in London, Milan, Berlin, Johannesburg and New York.
Carbon abatement technology company SeaStock – which produces a compound derived from seaweed which reduces methane emissions from livestock when mixed in feed – was one of the companies accepted into the program.
Sustainable crop production company Agra, kelp reforestation technology OceanHex, sustainable fertiliser producer Nitronic, Indigenous cultural competency company Call to Country and high performance soil testing instrument producer X-Centric will also take part in the inaugural program.
Innovation and Digital Economy minister Stephen Dawson said supporting unique nature startups would diversify and decarbonise the state’s economy.
“WA has a thriving nature-based innovation sector, and I’m pleased that local projects will be able to access a global network of investors and experts, without leaving the state,” he said.
“Founders Factory is renowned worldwide as being one of the best commercialisation accelerators and having the opportunity to nurture local start-ups here is an incredibly valuable opportunity.
“I am looking forward to the continued innovations to come from not only these selected six but what the next few years hold for the WA Nature Tech Accelerator program.”
The WA government will invest $2.4 million annually over three years to support the program.
While the government’s portion of the spend will focus on diversifying the state economy, mining will to be involved with Founders Factory.
It will be supported by Rio Tinto, with an investment in development of technologies in decarbonisation, exploration processing and remediation work as part of a separate mining tech program.
When Founders Factory’s presence in WA was first announced in April, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA praised the move, with chief economist Aaron Morey backing the state to become a key innovation hub in the Asia Pacific region.
He said at the time WA only attracted around 2 per cent of the nation’s total venture capital investment.
“Our state has the technical know-how to develop new opportunities in areas like automation, biotech, defence, agriculture and decarbonisation technologies,” Mr Morey said.
“The challenge for WA startups is getting the capital and guidance they need in the early stages of development to get these ideas off the ground, and this initiative will help them to do just that.
“The skills and ideas are here and with the right support, WA entrepreneurs can compete on a global scale.”
Source: Business News | Author: Sam Jones | Published: 4 October 2024
