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Our impact

iAccelerate is building a diversified and innovative economy for the future of the Illawarra region, and the Australian economy at large. By combining the world-class resources of the University of Wollongong with entrepreneurs, businesses and investors, our hub of innovation is creating positive impact for our local and global communities.

Supporting startups from idea to impact

Supporting innovation

Throughout 2025, we proudly supported 86 startups and scaleups through various initiatives, helping them to grow and thrive within the ecosystem.

Driving investment

Our resident companies had a fantastic year in 2025, successfully raising $21.8 million through a combination of equity, debt, and grant funding.

Fueling job growth

Our resident companies employed 245 full-time, part-time and casual workers (as of December 2025), including 45 new roles created.

Boosting the economy

$186.5 million has been injected into the regional economy by our resident companies since 2016, with $24.8 million of that in 2025.

Awards and Recognition

Our award winning program has been recognised with these honours:

  • 2026 - UOW International Women's Day Gender Equity Project Award 
  • 2025 - Global Triple E Award for Female Entrepreneurship Empowerment
  • 2024 - Asia Pacific Runner Up for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Activators of the Year Award
  • 2024 - Shaping Australia Community Builder Award for our RISE regional entrepreneurship program 
  • 2023 - Green Gowns Awards Australasia Benefitting Society Award 

Celebrating 10 years of iAccelerate

If you wind back 15 years, the Illawarra  and Wollongong was really different,   and it was at the time when most people were  still leaving the Illawarra to commute to work  
or to get jobs. So the vision of iAccelerate was  to try and build something that allowed people   to start their own companies here and to grow  global companies locally from the Illawarra.
Day one, iAccelerate was just an idea,  and then it moved into a proof of concept   in which Wollongong City Council gave some  office space in the centre of Wollongong. The   Illawarra really deserves a startup ecosystem.
I think building the building was an incredible  moment. We were across the road waiting for   this building to start, and we could see  it out the window. The startups that were   with us at the time were watching  it build up from the ground up.
It kind of went from a small program that was  a little bit ad hoc into a really sophisticated  
program. Scale just completely changed  overnight when this place came online.
Being in a space with lots of different  perspectives, lots of different backgrounds,   we're talking early graduates from university,  we're talking with people who've been in their   careers for 40 years. It's great to just have all  these ideas to be able to bounce it off people.
Really gave us a base of operations to both  start and then build from. We were lucky  
because we were able to sort of breathe and we  used it as an opportunity. So we had support,   which we probably wouldn't have had in  other places. I still remember going in  
to see John when we were going through  things and just being very unsure of   where we were as a company at the time,  and him pulling out a graph saying, "Oh,  
no, you're right here." And just that alone  sort of set us at ease and put us back on   the right path. So just the direction, being  around people, I think was the biggest piece.
Having those quiet side conversations is  just as important to find out what's going   in people's lives and people's businesses as it is  to celebrate those big national and global wins.
Truly, truly love iAccelerate. It is  a home for things that are possible.
I think it's been a great thing for the Illawarra   and for the region to really  grow that startup mentality.
To share that journey with students.  Also, to get the reverse mentoring,   which is the students actually  challenging us with questions and ideas.
And having that opportunity to work  with 600 startups. As a startup,   there's always a missing piece of the puzzle, and  to have that opportunity to be able to give them  
that missing piece of the puzzle, to me, that's  probably the biggest thing that I love seeing.
Often, the role that the university  had in this vision and in continuing   to back this is under-recognised, and  the reason this is so successful is   because of that vision and because  of the continued support for it.
We've spent the last 10 years sort of proving  ourself and building our reputation and being a  
trusted place where people can build innovation.  I think where I'd like to see us transform into  
is being the innovation centre of choice in  Australia, and I think that that's a highly   achievable goal for this entity and for this  region and will be a legacy long into the future.
Innovation begins with human ambition, but it  flourishes when supported by collaboration,  
mentorship, and shared purpose. That's  what iAccelerate represents for UOW.  
From the beginning, it was never simply  about creating the incubator building,   but it was about creating the ecosystem.  It is turning ideas into industries,  
research into real-world impact, and potential  into opportunity. Universities generate ideas  
every day, but the real challenge is translating  those ideas into solutions that improves lives  
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and transforms society. That's exactly what  iAccelerate has done and continue to do.

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