Victoria has officially launched a new innovation hub in the refurbished Goods Shed North.
The hub is designed to bring together the state's startups across a range of sectors including medtech, agtech, fintech and cyber security.
The state minister for innovation and the digital economy, Philip Dalidakis, opened the Victorian Innovation Hub at the historic 111-year-old building in the heart of Melbourne’s Docklands.
“This hub is the next step towards giving Victorian startups and entrepreneurs the help they need to expand, network and be in a supportive environment that will help them turn their dreams into reality,” said Mr Dalidakis.
The hub will be led by LaunchVic, Victoria’s startup development agency, and will house 360 startups, accelerators and incubators.
The multi-sector innovation hub brings together specialists including fintech startup hub Stone & Chalk, agtech accelerator SproutX, Australia’s national medtech accelerator The Actuator, leading technology accelerator Startmate and the CSIRO’s data analytics experts Data61.
It is hoped the new hub will strengthen Victoria’s economy by connecting startups and entrepreneurs with mentors and investors, and provide a world-class co-working facility that fosters collaboration and innovation.
The Goods Shed will also be the home of a studio for the award-winning online series, That Startup Show, as part of a new $1.1 million partnership with LaunchVic. The partnership will see the production and streaming of 20 episodes in front of a live audience in the space.