A joint initiative between coworking community River City Labs and Bank of Queensland (BOQ) is behind a new program to help entrepreneurs get their startup ideas out of their garage and onto the global market.
The Sponsored Entrepreneur program will see corporations offer free resources and mentorship to Brisbane-based startup teams, with a three-month full time membership of River City Labs.
Entrepreneurs will receive desk space at the Fortitude Valley startup hub, access to River City Labs training and networking events, and specialist mentorship to help them get their ideas off the ground.
BOQ is the first corporate to back the program, and will offer five sponsorships over the next six months. River City Labs is in charge of rolling out the program, and aims to get more big businesses supporting new startups in the coming months.
Steve Baxter, founder of River City Labs and a serial entrepreneur, has a big vision for the program, saying the program could help stimulate the Queensland economy to the tune of billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
“We are excited to have visionary corporates such as BOQ recognising the opportunity to grow our local business economy. Queensland has the ability to become Australia’s leading Startup State in the coming decade. If we take positive control of the growth of our entrepreneurial community, the returns to Queensland and Australia could be enormous,” Baxter said.
He also cited the recent Crossroads Report by StartupAUS, which reported that high-growth tech startups could account for $US109 billion and 540,000 new jobs by 2033. “We want to see Queensland attracting as many of these jobs as we can,” Baxter added.
Entrepreneurs who are interested in applying for a corporate sponsored membership for their startup at River City Labs can check out more information here.
