A tailored mentoring program, a unique opportunity to represent Australia at a global level and above all great prospects of attracting new contracts, customers and investors – these are just some of the benefits offered by this edition of Australian Clean Technologies (Cleantech) Competition.
The eventaims at promoting state-of-th e art technologies offering ‘green’ solutions for pollution, waste treatment and energy storage, energy efficiency, building materials, transportations systems, public utilities and much more.
This year up to 30 of the competing businesses shortlisted as competition Semi-Finalists will be offered a unique opportunity to participate in Cleantech Business Accelerator Program – a two-month comprehensive mentoring package of workshops and meetings with individual Mentors, covering a wide range of topics such as grants and tax benefits, commercialisation strategies, media and investor relations, and many more. They will finalise their efforts by developing a business plan aimed at driving growth in their business. By submitting the business plan, the companies will enter the final stage of the competition – competing to be an Australian Finalist. The winner will be announced in October at an Investment Showcase and Gala Dinner and will next represent Australia at the international GlobalCleantech Open Competition in the US in November 2013.
Last year, the organisers met with an overwhelming response to the competition with 70 companies competing for the place in the Accelerator Program. The 11 businesses selected as the Finalists represented diverse approaches to the clean technology, offering such solutions as efficient solar concentrators delivering heat, cooling and electricity at the lowest cost, a centrifuge technology offering more efficient cleaning of oil or Australia’s largest solar high-flow groundwater extraction system.
In interview for Sky News Business, Australian Government Clean Technologies Supplier Advocate, Dr Mark Newson pointed to profiling as a tremendous commercial benefit of the competition for the green technology companies: “If they didn’t have the competition they would probably have to fund this for themselves and that takes years, a lot of trips overseas to raise that profile in international markets, which are much bigger, as well as local markets,” Mr Newson said.
The competition is open to any Australian company big and small looking to turn their clean technology idea into a thriving business.
If you would like to find out more about this exciting opportunity and see if your business meets the required criteria, please contact our office on 1800 785 972.
See Recipients that have applied for and received this funding for their business!