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Pre-Accelerator program nurtures early-stage ideas

Ten budding startups in their early stages moved one step closer to achieving their entrepreneurial aspirations and bringing their business ideas to life, by presenting their innovative concepts at 2023 Pitch Night.

They showcased an assortment of startup ideas, featuring dedicated learning platform for sustainability, inventive transport management system and automated finance solution.

With a focus on fostering creativity and promoting an entrepreneurial mindset, this year’s program offered 6 weeks of intense coaching and masterclasses looking to make an impact in the startup ecosystem.

Vice President of Innovation and Enterprise, Dr Werner van der Merwe, says, “This program has reinvigorated the innovation studio with a diverse range of participants spanning from ecology to finance to pets, while the program itself has evolved from a normal accelerator to scooping up early ideas and helping them take the first steps towards commercialisation.”

Robin Borchard presenting at the Pre-Accelerator Program night, standing in front of a projector.

Robin Borchard, the founder of Trantsporters, presented at the 2023 Swinburne Pre-Accelerator Program Pitch Night.

Building the missing link in last mile delivery

Last mile delivery is always painful and challengeable due to expensive and time-consuming part of supply chain process. Robin Borchard, the Pre-Accelerator winner and founder of Trantsporters, offers a web-based Transport Management System (TMS) to improve logistics efficiency.

Robin Borchard says, “Trantsporters aims to streamline logistics operations by connecting shippers, receivers, and carriers with an open network of on-demand single pallet transport vehicles, for a faster, cheaper and more sustainable logistics system. The Transport Management System (TMS) makes it easy for shippers to manage their shipments, receive real-time updates, and track their cargo every step of the way.”

Finnlay Morcombe presenting at the Pre-accelerator pitch night, standing in front of a projector

Finnlay Morcombe, the co-founder of Fluency, delivered an inspiring pitch for streamlining financial services process.

Streamlining financial services process

The winner of both best pitch prize and runner-up prize, Finnlay Morcombe, delivered an engaging pitch and an automated solution Fluency, which saves time, money, and resources while creating better documentation.

He says, “Our business aims to solve the issue of manual process documentation in financial services internal operations, which costs the industry millions of dollars per year. Our software allows resources to be re-allocated, significantly increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the business.”

Mariyam Sayers presenting in front of a projector and smiling at the Pre-accelerator Pitch night.

Mariyam Sayers, the founder of Kan Du sustainability, pitched her idea to help SMEs accelerate climate action through capability building.

Empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for sustainability

Around the world, there is an increasing sense of urgency to address the climate change issue. 80% of small businesses recognise the importance of taking action on climate change, but more than half of them report a lack of knowledge and skills.

Another runner-up prize winner, Kan Du sustainability, provides a dedicated learning platform with training and resources for SMEs who does not have financial means for sustainability consultants and or in-house sustainability resources.

Fostering an innovation mindset for a diverse community

Innovation Studio is aiming to foster an innovation mindset to help solve problems faced by industry and society. Building technology and innovation go hand in hand to enable the startup ecosystem for a diverse community.

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