Australia

One of Australia’s most ambitious climate action ecosystem, Greenhouse has been granted $29 million from the City of Sydney to support the opening of the Greenhouse Climate Tech Hub across three floors of the iconic new Salesforce Tower in Circular Quay, Sydney. Applications for membership to the Greenhouse Climate Tech Hub (which will open its doors in July) are open to anyone aspiring to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon world by building and scaling climate tech solutions, with over 50 climate tech companies already expressing interest. The City of Sydney’s $29m total contribution comprises $7m towards the fit out of the Hub, and a $22m in negotiated rent abatement over 10 years to 2033.

The Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund which listed in 2018 has been added to the ASX All Ordinaries Index and has been classified by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as a Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust (MREIT), making it the only fund in Australia classified as MREIT. Qualitas Limited one of Australia's leading alternative real estate investment managers and the manager of QRI said the All Ords listing took effect prior to the opening of trading today. Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (MREITs) are companies or trusts that service, originate, purchase and/or securitise commercial and/or residential mortgage loans.

Restaurant dynamic pricing platform, EatClub, has launched new booking technology to take on booking giants, Open Table and others. The new tech, an online table booking system, enables diners to book directly with a venue via Google, social media or the venue’s website. According to Eatclub co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pan Koutlakis, there has been a move away from large aggregator websites in the industry. And as a result, venues have been frustrated with those websites hijacking Google search results and pointing customers away from the venues’ websites, then charging them a fee for related bookings.

Research from behavioural finance experts Oxford Risk shows Aussie wealth managers are braced for compensation claims from clients over failing to understand risk suitability, and expect tougher regulation on the issue. The study with wealth managers, who collectively manage assets of about $232bn, found 58% believe there will be pressure on them over the next 5 years to compensate clients for not doing enough to understand client risk suitability.

Nearly three quarters of Australian accountants have struggled to hire ‘good quality people’ over the last year (70%) and just over half (57%) say they would recommend young people to enter the industry, according to the latest research released from online accounting software provider, Intuit QuickBooks. Further, over one quarter (26%) of accountants say they would discourage young people from pursuing a career in the profession at all.

80% of Australian small business owners feel “confident”, “optimistic” and “cautiously hopeful” about their company’s performance in 2023 despite the economic slowdown, according to new research released recently from the online accounting software provider Intuit QuickBooks.

KPMG Australia and Stone & Chalk are looking for top startups in Space Technology for the next cohort of the Future Technology Program – which combines the largest innovation community in Australia at Stone & Chalk with KPMG’s deep expertise and knowledge, to help startups introduce better tech, better innovation and better thinking into the economy. 

Global renewable energy storage innovator Gelion has acquired an IP portfolio of over 450 Lithium Sulfur and Silicon Anode (LiSiS) patents which, in combination with Gelion’s existing IP, may create the ability to develop the most advanced battery technology here in Australia. Lithium sulfur is seem as the next dominant battery tech, meaning the acquisition accelerates Gelion’s efforts to produce a battery with significantly higher gravimetric density (energy-to-weight ratio), greater safety, and lower costs. Gelion is acquiring the IP from multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies and FTSE 250 company, Johnson Matthey.

When the Cygnett Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) hosted its second Indigenous Round between 11-19 February, the league took its storytelling to a new level with a series of player profiles produced in partnership with Adobe and creative agency Hopeful Monsters. In the pursuit to increase the representation of its Indigenous athletes and inspire the next generation of basketball players, the Women's National Basketball League rolled out high-quality interview content with three First Nations players; Abby Cubillo (Adelaide Lightning), Shaneice Swain (UC Canberra Capitals) and Nes’aya Parker-Williams (Townsville Fire).  

LaunchVic, Victoria’s startup agency, has found the State’s startup ecosystem is maturing rapidly, with growth outpacing some of the most renowned entrepreneurial cities like Tel Aviv, Toronto and Amsterdam. The 2022 Startup Ecosystem Mapping Report, the fourth report of its kind developed by LaunchVic in partnership with dandolopartners, found 1,300 new firms since the previous report in 2020, showing a strong pipeline of new ventures in the state.