Geelong funds sports tech start-ups program
A new business accelerator program for sports technology start-ups and small to medium companies will be launched in Geelong later this month.
The Australian Sports Technologies Network has won funding from the local Geelong council to launch its sports technology accelerator program, which will support 25 to 30 sports and information technology firms over a two-year period.
“The program aims to get the start-ups investment-ready by linking them to commercialisation and innovation experts," ASTN chairman James Demetriou said.
“So it’s [for] matters such as [intellectual property] protection, how to deal with customers and prospective investors, writing business plans, how to get ready for rounds of funding and so on."
The ASTN aims to connect participants in the sports equipment and technology supply chain, facilitating collaboration between industry participants such as large international and domestic brands, wholesalers, retailers and sporting organisations, and building entrepreneurial, innovation and commercialisation capacity.
A seed funding success
Formed with seed funding from the federal government in 2012, the ASTN now has 160 members, including 16 universities, 60 small to medium businesses, 39 national sports organising bodies and the Australian Sports Commission.
Mr Demetriou said there are plenty of fledgling companies in Australia with good sports technology ideas or products, but greater focus on commercialising the products for the wider market was needed.
The ASTN is also undertaking a study for the Sports Commission on the sports technology needs for about 30 national sports bodies, with the hope of identifying potential future business opportunities for the network’s members.
The network should also learn later this month or in March whether it will receive federal government funding promised by former prime minister Kevin Rudd before the 2013 election.
Under the former Labor government’s Australian Innovation Partnerships initiative, the ASTN was to receive a four-year, $6 million funding package to establish the Sports Technology Innovation Partnership. The money would be used for export accelerator programs, business pitching competitions, boot camps and to help small and medium businesses with plans and modelling.
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