Victorian sports startups to get a head start with new accelerator program

The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has announced an accelerator program to help Victorian startups tap into the $300 billion global sports products market.

The accelerator will accept four participants for a 12-month advisory and mentoring program which begins in February.

The aim is to provide Australian sports product companies with expertise in sports manufacturing, distribution, export and investment opportunities locally and overseas.

The mentorship opportunity is part of a suite of programs announced by the ASTN with the support of the Victorian government. The programs include masterclasses on exporting from $200 per participant to an innovation and commercialisation program for universities and research institutions.

Companies involved in sports apparel, footwear, protective wear, sports equipment and wearable devices are all eligible to participate.

Founder Craig Hill previously told StartupSmart one of the challenges faced by the local sports technologies industry is that Australia has a small population and is a long way from global mass markets. A way to counteract this is to fuel collaboration and tap into global markets.

“We continue to grow and nurture and are seeing increasing collaboration right across those key players,” Hill says.

“You look at some of the leading industries and countries around the world, they have very strong clusters of innovation and we see ourselves building one in this capacity.”

Expressions of interest for the Sports Manufacturing Export Development program close on 23 January.

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