❓ The Minister for Innovation and ICT provides an update on the Innovation Vouchers Program, highlighting its success in supporting local WA businesses and creating jobs, with specific examples of VitalTrace and Soter Analytics.
AnsweredQoN 68Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
NEW INDUSTRIES FUND — INNOVATION VOUCHERS PROGRAM
68. Dr J. KRISHNAN to the Minister for Innovation and ICT:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's continued investment in creating local jobs and supporting
new Western Australian industries. Can the minister update the house on how
this government investment in the innovation vouchers program is supporting
local WA businesses and helping create local jobs?
68. Dr J. KRISHNAN to the Minister for Innovation and ICT:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's continued investment in creating local jobs and supporting
new Western Australian industries. Can the minister update the house on how
this government investment in the innovation vouchers program is supporting
local WA businesses and helping create local jobs?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Riverton for
his question and also for his outstanding election victory in the seat of
Riverton and his very touching speech about his journey to this place.
Congratulations, member for Riverton.
The
innovation vouchers program is part of the McGowan government's new
industries fund and is part of our agenda to diversify the WA economy
and support small business. Since its inception, the innovation vouchers
program has supported 178 metropolitan and regional small businesses, and since
2017, 96 of those vouchers have been provided by the McGowan Labor government.
I would like to tell members about
two examples. VitalTrace received a voucher in 2017 and since then has grown
from two employees to 16 and raised $1.3 million in capital. It has also funded
three patents, which are underway, with another five planned. The founders of
VitalTrace have described how the voucher they received in 2017 was the
majority of their budget for that year and allowed them to reach proof of
concept, which in turn led to their initial seed capital funding. VitalTrace is
developing a biosensor device that is designed to improve safety during the
natural process of childbirth, so it is a tremendous Western Australian
innovation. Soter Analytics is the second example
and it has developed the world's first wearable solution—an
artificial intelligence–driven coaching p rogram to reduce back and shoulder injuries in the
workplace by up to 55 per cent. Since 2017, Soter Analytics has increased its employee numbers from three to 28. The company has raised approximately $A2.5
million, has multiple patents underway and has now expanded to new markets in
the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.
We on this side in the McGowan Labor
government know the importance of accelerating our agenda to diversify the WA economy, and that is why, in 2020, the
McGowan Labor government significantly expanded the IV program from 20
vouchers to 36, with a total value of $690 000 to provide additional support to
WA innovators during the COVID-19 pandemic. I recently opened the 2021 round of
the program, which calls for applications by Tuesday, 25 May. I am very proud
to be a part of a McGowan Labor government that is committed to diversifying
the Western Australian economy through
innovation. They were some great examples of the work that has been achieved.
his question and also for his outstanding election victory in the seat of
Riverton and his very touching speech about his journey to this place.
Congratulations, member for Riverton.
The
innovation vouchers program is part of the McGowan government's new
industries fund and is part of our agenda to diversify the WA economy
and support small business. Since its inception, the innovation vouchers
program has supported 178 metropolitan and regional small businesses, and since
2017, 96 of those vouchers have been provided by the McGowan Labor government.
I would like to tell members about
two examples. VitalTrace received a voucher in 2017 and since then has grown
from two employees to 16 and raised $1.3 million in capital. It has also funded
three patents, which are underway, with another five planned. The founders of
VitalTrace have described how the voucher they received in 2017 was the
majority of their budget for that year and allowed them to reach proof of
concept, which in turn led to their initial seed capital funding. VitalTrace is
developing a biosensor device that is designed to improve safety during the
natural process of childbirth, so it is a tremendous Western Australian
innovation. Soter Analytics is the second example
and it has developed the world's first wearable solution—an
artificial intelligence–driven coaching p rogram to reduce back and shoulder injuries in the
workplace by up to 55 per cent. Since 2017, Soter Analytics has increased its employee numbers from three to 28. The company has raised approximately $A2.5
million, has multiple patents underway and has now expanded to new markets in
the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe.
We on this side in the McGowan Labor
government know the importance of accelerating our agenda to diversify the WA economy, and that is why, in 2020, the
McGowan Labor government significantly expanded the IV program from 20
vouchers to 36, with a total value of $690 000 to provide additional support to
WA innovators during the COVID-19 pandemic. I recently opened the 2021 round of
the program, which calls for applications by Tuesday, 25 May. I am very proud
to be a part of a McGowan Labor government that is committed to diversifying
the Western Australian economy through
innovation. They were some great examples of the work that has been achieved.
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