The Victoria State Government has announced more support for Victoria’s start-up sector with a $500,000 boost for the state’s co-working spaces. LaunchVic, Victoria’s start-up development agency, has unveiled a new program to encourage co-working spaces to appoint high-calibre, experienced start-up professionals to support their residents. Through its “Expert-In-Residence” (EIR) program LaunchVic will invest up to $25,000 per successful application to support growth and learning opportunities for resident start-ups by attracting EIRs that will provide business guidance, mentorship and support for start-ups to improve their business capabilities. The program will favour experts who have either founded and grown a start-up, have had strong experience as a start-up executive (CEO, CTO, CMO, COO) at a technology-based company, or are recognised as an international start-up sector leader. “We’re giving Victoria’s start-ups the opportunity to become globally connected,” said Victoria’s Minister for Innovation and Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis. “Having an Expert-in-Residence program will encourage global thinking and knowledge sharing between experienced start-up experts and early to mid-stage start-ups.” Victoria is home to approximately 170 co-working spaces, with Startup Genome’s recent Melbourne’s Startup Ecosystem report calling the state the “co-working capital” of Australia. “Victoria’s co-working spaces are an essential part of Victoria’s start-up infrastructure, providing hubs of collaboration and networks that support start-ups to grow,” said LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick. “Mentorship and international connections are key drivers of start=up success and we expect this program to have a considerable impact across our ecosystem.” Applications for the EIR program are now open for established co-working spaces. The funding round will remain open until the total funding pool is allocated.
The Victoria State Government in Australia has pledged AUD500,000 ($364,254) to help the start-up sector, launching the “Expert-in-Residence” programme to encourage coworkspace operators to hire high-calibre professionals with start-up experience to support their members. In a press release, Minister for Innovation and Industry, Christopher Pyne, said that while there are many opportunities for Australian businesses to grow through innovation, it is important they have access to skilled workers who can provide