Queensland opens new start-up precinct

Queensland’s biggest start-up precinct is now open in the Fortitude Valley’s historic TC Beirne building.

The hub is designed for emerging innovators and entrepreneurs who need a space to create high-growth businesses and jobs.

“The precinct will help position Queensland as an ideal destination for start-ups, where the best and brightest come to transform new ideas into high growth businesses,” said Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch.

“Covering 5000 m², this new precinct will enable our budding entrepreneurs to launch their start-ups into the job-creating companies of tomorrow.”

More than 80% of the building has already been leased, with the Queensland Government investing $6 million from its $405 million Advance Queensland initiative to deliver the new precinct. This includes expanding its size to accommodate demand and to include a childcare centre to cater for entrepreneurs with family responsibilities.

“The ultimate vision of Advance Queensland is to get the whole state participating in creating jobs of the future and anticipating issues that may arise from an increasingly diverse global economy,” said Enoch.

“By doing so, Queensland will be better positioned to compete in the global economy in the future.”

Minister for Employment and Member for Brisbane Central Grace Grace said the precinct will become home to a unique community of like-minded individuals.

“They will be working to create new businesses, strengthen the economy, boost our international competitiveness and create jobs,” Grace said.

The latest Startup Muster Annual Report shows that Queensland has increased its share of Australian start-ups from 16.5% in 2015 to 19.3% in 2016.

“We have overtaken Victoria and Queensland now has the second-largest number of start-ups in the nation, behind only New South Wales,” Enoch said.

The precinct’s foundation tenants include River City Labs, Data 61, eHealth Queensland, Softbank Technologies from Japan, the Open Data Institute of Queensland, One Ventures, R&R Strategic, CyberLabs, ClipChamp, Find-Me, Airway Medical Innovations, Myriad and the Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur.

“We’ve got a lot of emerging talent in the tech start-up space, but we need to keep pushing them towards a global mindset. Concentrating the many facets of the start-up community in the precinct will help us achieve this,” said River City Labs founder and Transition Level Investments Chief Executive Officer Steve Baxter.

Recent studies from the United States estimate that more than a fifth of US gross domestic product was provided by companies that were helped to maturity by venture capital funding.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/denisismagilov

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