Regional innovators to pitch to global investors at Myriad Festival

Queensland innovators, identified for their high growth potential, will have the opportunity to market their products and services to international venture capitalists at Myriad this month.

The 127 business entrepreneurs from 12 regions covering all corners of the state will converge on Brisbane for the Myriad Festival at Brisbane Powerhouse from 29-31 March.

Speaking today at Cairns startup and innovation hub theSpace, Innovation Minister Leeanne Enoch said the regional entrepreneurs will showcase their innovative products at Myriad Festival, the sequel to the Palaszczuk Government’s successful 2016 Advance Queensland innovation and investment summit.

“The Palaszczuk Government is supporting these regional businesses to attend Myriad because they have some remarkable products and services for industries including tourism, marketing, renewable energy, and health food manufacturing,” Minister Enoch said.

“They have been identified for their high growth potential and for the employment opportunities they offer to Queenslanders. Attending Myriad will allow them to participate in a regional innovation showcase and open the door to unprecedented access to global investors.

“In many cases, these business people have shown that regional innovators can develop ground-breaking products with unique selling points and game-changing business services.”

Ms Enoch said the Advance Queensland initiative is part of the Palaszczuk Government’s plan to diversify regional economies and help them transition to a post-mining boom economy.

The regional delegates will attend from Far North Queensland, North Queensland, Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday, Fitzroy, Outback Queensland, Wide Bay Burnett, Darling Downs and Maranoa, Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Ipswich and West Moreton, Redlands and Logan and the Gold Coast.

Far North Queensland delegate Matt McKinley from Didgigo Marketing said he was hoping that by attending Myriad it would help him grow his tourism services-based business. Mr McKinley’s innovative Cairns business currently employs six people with plans to grow this number in the months ahead.  

Natural Evolution Foods owner Robert Watkins is another regional delegate from Far North Queensland. His Walkamin based business received an Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas grant of $250,000 in 2016 and, as a result, was able to develop overseas contacts to establish sales of its processed foods, including its gluten-free banana flour.

Mr Watkins said that development of the company’s unique, patent-pending factory technology, NutroLockTM, and the subsequent client demand would, in the future, lead to more factories being built in Queensland. He said the business had received extensive overseas interest in NutroLockTM which he hoped would lead to job opportunities.

“For these new customers, we will be manufacturing the products in Queensland before exporting them. This will create jobs for the region, such as factory fabricators and software designers.”  

Ms Enoch said the Palaszczuk Government supported 50 regional entrepreneurs to attend the 2016 Advance Queensland innovation and investment summit.

“Several of last year’s delegates walked away with new customers or investors as well as new contacts, leads and collaborators. This year we’ve almost tripled the number of people we are supporting with 127 entrepreneurs from across Queensland,” she said.

Regional delegates will be supported with event tickets, travel subsidies and a professional display booth at Myriad to showcase their business ideas to local and international world-industry leaders.

Through the $405 million whole-of-government Advance Queensland initiative, the Palaszczuk Government has partnered with Myriad to deliver flagship annual innovation events, over three years.

More information about the 127 regional delegates being supported to attend Myriad is available at http://advance.qld.gov.au/myriadregional.

Media contact: 0437 859 987