Qld funds flow to company innovation, innovation precincts

Fifty-six Queensland businesses will share in more than $5.5 million in funding to bring new and innovative products and services to the market under the state government’s Ignite Ideas and Ignite Spark funds.

The Ignite Ideas Fund helps companies to take a viable product to market with grants of up to $200,000, while the Ignite Spark Program offers grants of up to $75,000 to help businesses progress their products and services from prototype to a more advanced stage on the journey to market.

The announcement came as the government also announced 13 innovation precincts and places would share in more than $4 million in funding to drive growth and innovation.

Innovation Minister Leanne Linard (pictured) announced the successful recipients in the inaugural funding round of the $15 million Queensland Innovation Precincts and Places Fund”

• The Underwood Innovation Precinct will receive funding to support the development of a South East Queensland-based National Drone Centre of Excellence
• The Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct will use its funding to develop and grow businesses that will form the heart of new and exciting tech industries on the Gold Coast, including sports tech
• And Cairns-based Launch Y(E)P will receive almost $1.3 million for two projects, including an upgrade of its facilities with state-of-the-art digital infrastructure to provide an enhanced space for collaboration among Far North Queensland innovators.

Meanwhile Innovation Minister Linard announced 56 small-to-medium-sized businesses would share in more than $5.5 million in grants under the two ignite funds.

The Ignite Ideas Fund projects include ‘You After X’, a mobile app which offers a lifeline to women facing the complexities of separation or divorce and ‘Clean&Recover’ that will help mining companies transform waste streams into productive assets.

The inaugural funding round for the Ignite Spark Program goes to companies including ‘Attunga’ – an innovative tethered drone, equipped with a cellular repeater, designed to extend communication networks in rural areas and help bridge the connectivity gap and enhance access to essential communication services.

Linard said: “The successful recipients under these latest funding rounds of the Ignite Ideas and Ignite Spark programs demonstrate yet again that Queensland is home to some very innovative and very entrepreneurial people.

“By supporting innovative initiatives we’re working together to create a better life for all Queenslanders and showcasing our potential as a global leader in the highly competitive innovation economy.”

Picture: Leanne Linard