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Barayamal accelerator is looking for 5 innovative Indigenous startups to give a funding total of $50,000

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After running the world’s first Indigenous accelerator in November 2016, Barayamal is now running the first Indigenous Accelerator program in Victoria later this year – thanks to LaunchVic.

Five innovative Indigenous startups will be selected for the Barayamal Accelerator and receive a funding total of $50,000 in grants with all startups also receiving support through free coworking space, mentoring and training from industry experts at the Victorian Innovation Hub, Goods Shed North.

Over three months, the Indigenous Startups will rapidly grow their businesses and showcase their success at the culminating demo pitch night – applications open on the 8th April and close 7th June 2019.

While Indigenous entrepreneurs throughout Australia are excited and anxiously waiting to apply, Barayamal is also running a 2-day Pre-Accelerator on  the 28 – 29 March at KPMG’s Melbourne office, which will provide world-class training and mentoring to kick-start the entrepreneurial journeys of Indigenous Australians. The Pre-Accelerator will also provide further information about the 3-month Barayamal Accelerator program so Indigenous startups can start preparing their applications.

In addition, Barayamal has partnered with Stone & Chalk – the biggest Fintech hub in Australasia. The partnership will provide Indigenous entrepreneurs from Barayamal’s programs with world class coworking space and access to investors. Stone & Chalk supports the growth of the highest quality Fintech startups in Australia, which have raised over $330 million in capital.

CEO of Barayamal, Mr Dean Foley, said an accelerator typically helps startups to gain access to business networks, knowledge, expertise and early-stage funding they need to build successful businesses.

Mr Foley said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs can make a valuable contribution to this momentum towards innovation if they build and grow companies with a global impact.

“The Barayamal Accelerator wants to help Indigenous entrepreneurs achieve just that,” Mr Foley said.

Barayamal means ‘Black Swan’ in Gamilaraay language. Black swans were first seen by Europeans in 1697 but before that, Europeans had only known of a white swan. In this instance, the black swan represents Indigenous entrepreneurs who have not been noticed in the world for their innovation. Barayamal plans to show the world that Indigenous entrepreneurs exist and they can also build global businesses.