Funding accelerates Sunshine Coast innovators towards global success

Three tech innovators from the Sunshine Coast have secured Advance Queensland funding to accelerate their development and growth, and help them launch into global markets.

Innovation Minister Leeanne Enoch today announced the Sunshine Coast recipients who will share in almost $300,000 of first round Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas funding.

“I want this funding to be a catalyst for the international success of these businesses, helping them through the sometimes difficult developmental stages, building their resilience and giving them a boost onto the international stage,” Ms Enoch said.

“These are the companies which will build a robust knowledge economy for the Sunshine Coast and Queensland, and provide jobs for the future.”

The Ignite Ideas program is designed to help early stage, high growth potential businesses achieve scale, growth and profitability.

A total of 39 applicants statewide were successful in the Ignite Ideas first round, representing a funding commitment of $5.65 million.

“The availability of good support networks makes the Sunshine Coast a great place to found a startup and engage in digital innovation,” Ms Enoch said.

Each recipient has undertaken enterprise or platform software development targeting different industries and end users.

Peregian Beach email service developer Atmail secured $100,000 to help deliver an innovative object storage plugin to email service providers worldwide.

Noosa Heads software developer Osler Technology will receive $100,000 to launch its Osler Clinical Performance monitoring system and build a global subscriber base.

Sippy Downs software developer Strategik Pty Ltd will receive $99,000 to help launch its Strategik 365 extension to a current global market of around 60 million Microsoft Office subscribers.

Strategik founder Dr Adrian Colquhoun said Ignite Ideas funding, coupled with the many other Advance Queensland support initiatives, was very important to the Sunshine Coast’s startup ecosystem.

“We’ve put everything on the line for our business – as I know many others have – and we’re having a crack at a highly competitive global marketplace,” he said.

“Thankfully, we’ve built solid international connections and we have every reason to believe we’re on a winner that will enable us to scale rapidly, especially in terms of the number of people we can employ.

“This funding provides a bridge for us during this difficult stage where we need to focus exclusively on product development.

“I’m confident this funding will help us achieve a step change in our development and growth.”

For further information visit the Advance Queensland website.

Media contact: Daniel Lato 0438 830 201