Page 4093 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
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selected companies. Following a rigorous selection process from over 40 applicants, five were selected to participate in the program. Each company received a $25,000 investment in return for a proportion of equity in the company.
Of the five companies selected for the accelerator program, three had been beneficiaries of the ACT government innovation connect grant—Enabled Employment, Made for Me and Quizling. Following completion of the program all five companies are raising further capital for expansion. Enabled Employment, which connects experienced and capable people with a disability to employment opportunities, has over 40 employers on its books and has placed over 400 employees. The company is currently raising $500,000 at a pre-money valuation of $2 million and is over subscribed. Made for Me and Quizling were selected from over 400 companies to present to the Sydney Angels group last month. As a result both companies are in discussions with potential investors for significant amounts of funding. The early stage funding provided by our innovation connect program is an essential resource to enable small innovative businesses to navigate the early stages of the commercialisation process.
The ACT’s trade performance continues to be remarkable, with a compounded annual growth rate in the value of exports of approximately seven per cent per year over the last decade. Over the last 12 months we have organised multiple delegations to key markets, including China, Singapore and the US. The trade delegation program is developed in close consultation with industry through our continuing connection with organisations including the Canberra Business Chamber and other industry organisations, as well as with bilateral business councils that connect Canberra to specific target markets.
Some of the notable trade development successes for local small businesses include IE Asia Pacific, a small business based in Canberra which is now providing niche radar and air traffic control solutions throughout Asia. Intelledox recently won two ACT export awards. On-the-Go, another winner at this year’s export awards, also announced in Singapore a major deal to sell custom-made sports apparel uniforms to Anytime Fitness Asia, and are also exporting to the USA. Data-Pod has completed its first sale into the North American public sector market with the purchase of one of its unique modular data centres by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission. Their growing list of clients includes CSIRO, BHP Billiton, Saab Technologies, Papua New Guinea Maritime and the Australian federal government. Seeing Machines was this year’s ACT exporter of the year, and it has recently opened an office in California and has contracts in Latin America. It is also partnering with Toshiba to develop new uses for its technology.
The establishment of the CBR Innovation Network demonstrates the ACT government’s willingness to adopt new approaches for even better outcomes for the ACT’s small business community. Earlier this month the Chief Minister launched the CBR Innovation Network at its new premises in Moore Street—premises we provided at a peppercorn rental for two years. It provides a new location for the Entry 29 co-working space, a home for the Griffin accelerator program mentioned earlier, and it will soon host a best practice incubator for potential high growth companies.
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