A consortium led by Bendigo based tech company Clear Dynamics will continue to build on the program activities offered by Startup Central Victoria with the support of a $260,000 grant from LaunchVic.
“We are excited to grow this initiative with the valued support of consortium members Be Bendigo, Bendigo Telco, City of Greater Bendigo, Committee for Echuca Moama, Emporium Creative Hub, and the Macedon Ranges Council” said Craig Hunter, Director Government Relations & Delivery at Clear Dynamics. Support has also been received from local government agencies in the Loddon Campaspe region following a successful pilot program.
While 25% of Victoria’s population resides in the regions, LaunchVic’s 2020 ecosystem mapping showed only 3% of startups were based in regional Victoria.
LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick said the latest funding would be crucial in addressing these statistics. “Connecting entrepreneurs in Victoria’s regions with innovators and other likeminded people is vitally important to build a strong culture of startup creation,” she said. “This funding round is focused on supporting the growth of Victoria’s regional startup sector and giving people the support to grow tech startups – no matter where they live in the State.” Other grant recipients were Latrobe City Council, Mildura Regional Development and Warrnambool City Council.
Clear Dynamics is regarded as the perfect example of a tech startup in central Victoria. “Clear Dynamics formed its first team in 2015 – three men and one woman – united by a clearly different view of the way technology should be developed and experienced. Today, we’ve got team members all around Australia, but we remain proudly Bendigo headquartered,” said Craig. “Innovation is in our DNA and if we can share some of that back to start-ups in the region, then we’re helping build the ecosystem that has helped make us a recognised Great Place to Work.”
Over the next two years Startup Central Victoria will be focussed on building a stronger ecosystem that showcases entrepreneurs and supports startups. In addition to monthly meetups sharing the knowledge and experiences of business owners, a series of startup events and two pre accelerator programs will be offered at no charge to residents of the region aged 18 years plus.
