iAccelerate has wrapped another great year as we continue to build a thriving community that is delivering on innovation, jobs and revenues. We are proud that our gender balance remains nearly double that of the industry average.

We are now the leading Accelerator / Incubator in the country based on the number of companies that have come through our program and the headline revenue that our companies have reached $27 million in total for the 2017 calendar year.

Female Participation

• 44% of Female Founders and Co-Founders
• Applied tech entrepreneurs in non-traditional sectors with high impact
• 38.3% of Australian Startups employ no female staff * potential

We are now the leading Accelerator / Incubator in the country based on the number of companies that have come through our program and the headline revenue that our companies have reached $27 million in total for the 2017 calendar year. 

iAccelerate companies are creating jobs with a combined payroll now over $5 million. They have also attracted over $8.5 Million in Equity Capital investment this year.

We also offer one of the most comprehensive education programs anywhere for startups.

We have a cohort of active startups in the iAccelerate center launching a raft of new products with many more under development. They are also getting their IP applications granted at an impressive rate.

Products and IP

• iA Companies continue to launch & develop new products – 52 in 2017
• 33 applications for IP protection – with an 86% success rate in 2017
• 44% Sydney startups report they are offering a product that is 1st of its kind vs global average of 34% – outlining bold ambitions to create businesses of global significance *

The offer of a minor for engineers taking the iAccelerate program was a first in Australia. Additionally, the matching of MBA students with startups to assist them on a
specific project was perhaps another.

New opportunities with students at our international campuses are under discussion and how we may increase undergraduate involvement is a focus for 2018.

iAccelerate Creating Opportunity

Numbers are one thing, the creation of opportunities for members of the community andfor researchers and students to gain experience to be involved with a startup has more subtle but profound longer-term effects. We are creating new pathways for research and innovation to have a greater impact in our community.

We also see ourselves as having a leadership role in creating not only regional but national and international networks that can create opportunities for collaboration, investment and more rapid growth of companies that are based here.

Our program now also includes startups associated with the Illawarra Retirement Trust and other community organisations now also hold offices space here. We are also regularly hosting events for local community groups such as the refugee assistance group, SCARF and disability employer, Greenacres.

Success among startups is traditionally a challenge and we certainly cannot guarantee companies coming through iAccelerate success, however, as one impressed visiting
international investment manager who works closely with MIT in the US told us “there is not one company at iAccelerate that can’t succeed at least at the regional level, and some are definitely going to be ready for international markets.

Applications for the next intake are now open – learn more on our Apply Page.