Victorian government to establish $60m startup strategy

Victoria minister for small business, innovation and trade Adem Somyurek.

Victoria's minister for small business, innovation and trade Adem Somyurek, has announced that the state government is developing a $60 million plan to help startups.

Speaking at Connect 2015 in Melbourne, Somyruek said that innovative firms will be able to harness the value of new to market technologies and have the potential for high growth impacts on the economy.

He cited a 2013 report (PDF) by PwC on the startup economy which forecast that the sector could contribute $109 billion to the Australian economy and 540,000 jobs by 2033.

“In order to meet these growth targets, we will need to grow the number of startups substantially over the next 10 years," the minister said.

“This initiative will involve enhancing Victoria’s entrepreneurial culture to ensure we have the right conditions for entrepreneurs to thrive.”

This will involve looking at a range of issues including skills and capability development, regulatory issues and access to finance. According to Somyurek, the government will be developing the startup initiative over the next few months.

He also announced that the Victorian government will establish a new ICT strategy designed to drive growth across the state’s economy.

The strategy will seek to leverage the competitiveness of the local ICT industry.

“It will be demand focused and seek to address unmet demand for high speed broadband, ICT skills and ICT products and services,” he said.

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