Australia’s premier platform to accelerate technology scaleups and SMEs with global potential – the Australian Technologies Competition (ATC) – is heading south this year, to Australia’s burgeoning tech centre – Melbourne.
Now in its ninth season, the ATC is a national competition to recruit, spotlight and promote commercially attractive SMEs to a global audience, providing a platform for recognition, mentoring and acceleration support and an avenue to meet potential partners and investors. This year 33 semi-finalists have been chosen from a pool of 206 entrants, comprising of high-growth potential companies from across Australia.
Victoria is represented by: AgriNous, Aspire, Navi Medical Technologies, Tournicare and Unpackaged Eco. Having been staged in Sydney for almost a decade, the 2019 national awards and finals will be held in Melbourne thanks to welcoming sponsors and hosts: the Victorian Government’s Department of Jobs, Precincts & Regions (DJPR) and Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DEWLP).
Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment & Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio remarked: “We have an international reputation for fostering innovation in new energy and environmental technologies here in Victoria. Chargefox electric vehicle charging stations are capable of delivering up to 400km in 15 minutes, and our Microgrid Demonstration Initiative supports nine projects that explore opportunities for new energy markets across the state. We’re proud to host the ATC and share our expertise and city with our guests.”
Patrick Mooney, Chairman of Impact Tech Ventures and organiser of the ATC, echoed these sentiments: “Victoria has always been a strong participant in the ATC, particularly in the fields of advanced manufacturing, new energy, smart cities, medtech and global social impact. This is a wonderful opportunity to spotlight Victoria’s enterprising tech scale-ups and the entrepreneurial ecosystem thriving here in Melbourne.”
According to InvestVic, Melbourne is now home to more than half of Australia’s top 20 technology companies. The ICT industry operating in Victoria generates more than $36bn in revenue each year and employs close to 140,000 people.
Last year, several Victorian companies reached the top of the Competition leader board as both finalists and winners. They included: innovative biotech company AdAlta (winner of the 2018 Medtech & Pharma Award); Geelong-based Capricorn Power (Winner of the 2018 New Energy Award); Anatomics, a medical facial implant manufacturer; Ynomia, an Internet of Things (IoT) company solving construction headaches; and Kesem Health, developer of a patented device to assess urinary issues.
The ATC will host a Partner Connect event in Melbourne on 28 October, introducing overseas corporate partners, investors, high net worth individuals and venture funds to ATC finalists and alumni. On 29 October, the ATC national finals and Awards Ceremony will take place at the landmark Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with more than 200 guests expected in attendance.
This year, entrants in the ATC compete across ten key industries, ranging from advanced manufacturing, cyber-security, food & agribusiness, to new energy, global social impact and circular economy. This year’s cohort of 33 semi-finalists were selected by a panel of 14 expert judges who earmarked those companies possessing technology/solutions with the greatest global potential.
“In addition to Australia’s high-value industries, we’re providing a platform to showcase innovative technology with global social impact,” said Mooney. “Australia is full of incredible innovators and problem-solvers with technologies that can be transformed into great commercial success stories.”