Innovation and Technology, Politics and Policy

Fantastic news from LaunchVic2 minute read

Victoria will be the home of the only startup fund of funds in Australia. Israel’s startup nation was boosted by Yozma. NZ has NZVIF. Now Australia has the Victorian Startup Capital Fund. This will make the market for early-stage startup investment.

Given the amount invested, it may drive many hundreds of millions of dollars of extra in investment in startups in Victoria. The best part: It’s not picking winners, it’s market-competitive, co-investing in VCs to invest in Victorian startups. Here’s a diagram that shows how it works:

Victorian Startup Capital Fund diagram

This is a tremendous job-multiplier. A prodigious base to de-risk early-stage startup investment. A great validation that the Victorian startup sector is a key driver of economic recovery. It puts great faith in Victorians who want to start ambitious businesses.

AND – LaunchVic is also running a new ‘Women’s Angel Sidecar Fund’ (WASF) to assist women founders to raise the capital they need to grow their early-stage startups and hopefully encouraging more women to quit their jobs and launch their own startups.

As a founding Director of LaunchVic, I’m so proud to be part of it; over two years of preparation and planning. Well done to everyone who has brought it to life, in particular the wonderfully talented LaunchVic team lead by Dr Kate Cornick.

Victoria / Melbourne is the creative, innovative and business heart of Australia. While we once named our streets after early explorers, my long-held vision is that we name our future streets after successful business founders. Today’s initiatives move us down that path.

More info here: https://launchvic.org/general/victorian-government-budget-2020-information-directory

Published by Constantine Frantzeskos

I help global businesses delight their future digital customers with user-centred digital strategies, innovations and ideas.