APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program

Calling all Queensland companies looking to grow export opportunities for the SportsTech industry.

The SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program is a 12-week program for Queensland companies with innovative technology solutions in the areas of sports, fitness, wellness, sports entertainment, stadiums and Esports that are transforming how sport is played, coached and watched. The program will aim to help fast-track established businesses ready to grow and export.

This pilot program is supported by the Queensland Government through the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport (DTIS), and Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ). The program will be run by the coLab Growth Hub, and New Zealand based company Creative HQ who are a leading provider of innovation programs.

Yunus Sports Hub, who are based in France, are also a key partner and actively involved in the program supplying coaching and sharing their international established network.

Applications are now closed.

Five growth-focused Queensland companies with innovative technology solutions in the sports industry will be selected to participate in the 12-week program starting end of March 2023.

The program will kick off with a two-day bootcamp at the coLab Growth Hub in the City of Logan, followed by 12 weeks of support by a team of experts, including the development of an export plan and facilitation of international business introductions aligned to the export plan for each participating company.

What to expect

Each company in the program will work directly with a dedicated Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) from the coLab Growth Hub, who is a highly experienced business growth advisor, to help develop and test their export strategy.

Each company will also have access to sports industry experts around the world from the Yunus Sports Hub network. These experts will help participating companies understand the trends and applications of SportsTech worldwide, the market needs for SportsTech in specific export markets of interest, and facilitate business introductions with global sports business partners.

Finally, each participating company will work with a dedicated coach from Creative HQ to ensure they have good frameworks to effectively manage the work they do in the program and keep them accountable to their goals and the tasks as set out in the agreed plans with their EiRs and advisors.

Each participating company will be required to participate in a two-day bootcamp at the coLab Growth Hub in the City of Logan on the 27 and 28 March 2023.Over the 12-week program, companies will be required to commit at least 20 hours a week to the program.

For more information, see the Applicant’s Information Pack.

Not sure if your company is the right fit for this program? Please reach out to us via email HERE.

Key dates

16 Feb Applications open

03 Mar Applications close

17 Mar Companies selected and notified

27-28 Mar Companies participate in Bootcamp at the coLab Growth Hub (City of Logan)

03 Apr 12-week program starts

19 Jun (week of) Companies participate in end of program pitch event at the coLab Growth Hub (City of Logan)

About the program

Queensland has an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate growth in Queensland’s sport technology and innovation economy, and the state’s skills, companies, and talent.

Through the SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program, the Queensland Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport, and Trade and Investment Queensland are supporting opportunities to grow local expertise and accelerate and revolutionise sports technology and sporting innovation in Queensland and beyond.

The SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program aims to deliver valuable outcomes for Queensland companies with innovative technology solutions in the sports economy who are ready to scale globally, and assist in building Queensland’s SportsTech ecosystem. The goal of the program is to provide a mix of consistent business development support and bespoke advice and training to each participating company, aligned to what they need to supercharge their growth.

Each company will be expected to develop a fit-for-purpose export market strategy through the program and will be supported by local and international experts.

Representatives from DTIS and TIQ will work with the companies and the program’s providers to help ensure all participating companies are supported in their export growth endeavours.

For more information about the program, see the Applicant’s Information Pack.

Applications are closed

We’re no longer accepting applications for the SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program.

About the program delivery team

Creative HQ has been a fundamental architect in developing the startup ecosystem in New Zealand. Creative HQ have been working with founders since our inception in 2003 and have supported 500+ startups and thousands of founders through our incubation and accelerator programs. Collectively, these companies have gone on to raise more than $100M in investment and are valued at over $1 billion NZD.

Logan City Council established the coLab Growth Hub (www.thecolab.online/) in partnership with go1 (https://www.go1.com/) in early 2021 with a particular focus on supporting the accelerated scaling of later stage ventures. The coLab’s unique value proposition for scaling ventures combines world-class structured programming with access to highly experienced Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiRs) and the the Network for Global Innovation’s (NGIN) well established international venture support network.

Yunus Sports Hub was founded by 2006 Nobel Prize Laureate and 2020 Olympic Laurel awardee Professor Yunus. Yunus draws on the unique expertise and reach of the global Yunus ecosystem and social business movement, which gathers 5000+ experts and organisations in 150+ countries and has been built over the past 50 years.

What is SportsTech?

The SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program is looking to support growth-focused companies that offer solutions in the following fields:

Human Performance/Quantified Self: elite performance, digital fitness, health and wellness
Next Gen Media: streaming/OTT, AR/VR, fan engagement, immersive digital media and content
Live Experience: fan experience, ticketing, security, venue optimisation and wayfinding, crowd analytics, reimagined and emerging sports, convergence of live sporting events with Esports and entertainment
Esports & Gaming: tournament platforms, fantasy and gamification, in-game activities, data/analytics, advertising/sponsorship, game development
Personalisation: Nutrition, Allied Health and Wellness as examples of major growth markets
Web 3.0, Metaverse and Blockchain
Artificial intelligence: automation and data insights
Sustainability: Applications to contribute to ESG, SDG and digital sustainability
Diversity in sport through technology

FAQs

We tried to answer all your questions below. If you have a specific query get in touch.

Who can apply?

You are a company with an established customer base, generating revenue, and ready to scale in the SportsTech industry with the intention to expand into new export markets outside of Australia. For full details, please refer to the Applicant Informati o n Pack.

If your company is headquartered outside of Queensland, you may still apply if you are able to demonstrate a significant commitment to Queensland. This may include aspects such as a Queensland office and/or a Queensland based workforce. Further detail may be requested as part of the assessment process for any applicants not headquartered in Queensland.

Regionally based companies are strongly encouraged to apply. We will work with successful regional SportsTech companies for suitable arrangements if any of the face-to-face elements pose a challenge

Who is ineligible to apply?

Ineligible Applicants include but are not limited to;

Individuals
Local sport, recreation and community club or association
Regional sport and recreation associations (including those affiliated with state level organisations)
National sporting organisations where there is a state level organisation in Queensland
Federal and State Government Departments
TAFE colleges
Schools and Parents and Citizens Associations
Trusts
Religious organisations and charities

The Queensland Government may, at its discretion, not accept an application or award funding in the case that a project involves (but not limited to) activities involving liquor, gambling, tobacco, adult services and illicit substances. However, technologies involving gaming technologies are not explicitly excluded from consideration under this program. All applications will be evaluated based on the program’s guidelines and criteria.

Can I be a solo founder, or do I have to be part of a team?

We require at least two co-founders, or one founder/co-founder and one senior executive of your company are available to participate in the boot camp and 12-week program.

What is the time commitment?

Participants are expected to commit to the following:

27 – 28 March – Full-time participation in a two-day bootcamp at The coLab Growth Hub in the City of Logan, Queensland.

03 April to 16 June – For the 12-week program full attendance in all coaching and EiR sessions (approximately 3 hours per week) and at least 20 hours per week of the participating people from the company to work on the export plan and activities.
We also expect full-time participation in a half-day mid-program event at the coLab Growth Hub in the City of Logan, Queensland.

Week of 19 to 23 June – Full-time participation in a one-day, end of program pitch event at the coLab Growth Hub in the City of Logan, Queensland.

What does it cost to participate in the program?

This program is Queensland Government funded and free to attend for all participants. At least one founder needs to commit to traveling to the City of Logan, Queensland for the three (3) in person sessions at their own expense.

What is the selection process and selection criteria?

Please refer to the Applicant Information Pack.

If I enter the SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Progam, is my Intellectual Property protected?

Yes, your intellectual property will remain yours. We do not take any shares or claim any rights over your idea or anything you develop inside of this program.

Participant in Creative HQ workshop listening