Newcastle-based startup incubator Eighteen04 has today opened its new 30-seat facility to accommodate growth in its community of clients working on clean tech and smart cities projects.
According to Minister for Small Business John Barilaro, a $300,000 investment from his Government, through Jobs for NSW, had enabled Eighteen04, which launched in September 2015, to relocate from its original 10-seat facility. He said the incubator’s expanded seat count will not only help draw new national and international talent to the Hunter region, it will also support new startups and generate up to 218 new jobs.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the new Eighteen04 facility is located close to industry, universities and investors in Newcastle’s West, meaning it is “now better placed than ever to help drive economic development and jobs and industries of the future for Newcastle and the Hunter region.”
The new facility was opened by Jobs for NSW CEO Karen Borg, who said Eighteen04 will provide startups with access to collaborative work spaces, programs and startup capital as well as support from experienced mentors.
“Jobs for NSW will also be working with Eighteen04 on an ongoing basis to ensure startups in the Hunter region are aware of the range of assistance programs that we offer to help them progress through each stage of their development,” she said.
“Jobs for NSW is committed to encouraging the creation of a thriving startup ecosystem, helping to generate jobs in a new and emerging sector and allowing NSW to attract the best talent. The team at Eighteen04 have big goals, hoping to eventually expand to a 100-seat facility and become the Asia Pacific home for cleantech and smart cities startups.”
Now co-located with TAFE, Eighteen04 counts TAFE NSW, the CSIRO Energy Centre, Newcastle City Council, HunterNet, AiGroup and Mayfield Business Association amongst its partners.
