Some of Australia’s most promising technology start-up companies have been announced as finalists in CeBIT Australia’s PitchFest, a competition allowing entrepreneurs to give a creative pitch to a panel of successful business owners and technology experts.
Held on day three of Asia Pacific’s largest business technology conference and exhibition at ICC Sydney on 25 May 2017, CeBIT PitchFest offers entrepreneurs practical real-world pitching experience, and the chance to receive feedback from world leading entrepreneurial experts and key influencers, including senior representatives from TiE Sydney.
NSW Minister for Industry, Niall Blair, congratulated the finalists noting eight of the ten finalists hail from NSW.
“Congratulations and best of luck to these 10 ground-breaking Aussie companies which demonstrate the breadth and excellence of our start-up community.
“Eight of the 10 companies are based right here in NSW, including a great regional company Ontoto from Moss Vale which is a leader in water monitoring technology.
“Our dominance at the PitchFest shows that NSW remains the nation’s leader in start-up activity with over 40 percent of start-up founders in Australia coming from this great state.
“The NSW Government’s support for CeBIT Australia and for our start-up industry will continue to grow our state’s global reputation as a technology industry leader,” said Mr Blair.
Who exactly are the CeBIT PitchFest 2017 finalists?
1 .Inkerz: bringing the internet of things to education, Inkerz utilises cutting-edge technology to bridge the gap between a notepad and the computer to increase the effectiveness of online learning
2. Look Who’s Charging: simplifies the search to find which company has charged your credit card, set to reduce the hours customers spend on the phone to banks making enquiries
3. Rivuu: changing how social media content is created, approved and scheduled, Rivuu streamlines social media work processes for faster turnaround times for agencies and businesses
4. Hosonto Middleware: an end-to-end development platform for web and mobile applications that utilise patent pending Automated Model View (AMV) framework to allow developers to focus on user interface and business logic
5. Sound Scouts: a game designed to test the hearing of children, especially around the time they start school
6. Share with Oscar: dubbed as the ‘Airbnb for parking’, this is Australia’s first real time, on-demand, parking application that facilitates the rental of private parking spots
7. KeyHub: key storage facilities that allow short rental accommodation hosts to safely store and swap keys with guests in a secure and convenient location
8. Arludo: a gamification app that combines augmented reality and play to empower teachers to teach STEM subjects and encourage students to engage and learn
9. Ontoto: an advanced water monitoring solution to measure water level and temperature, designed and made in Australia
10. Smart Grid Energy: a unique solar power metering system developed by Enopte to address the rising costs of power. The system is free to access and can save users up to 30% on costs with access to demand management controls and detailed information on energy consumption and generation
Harvey Stockbridge, Managing Director of Hannover Fairs – organiser of CeBIT Australia, commented on the importance of creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, allowing them to showcase their innovations and ensure the competitiveness of our industries, services and skills on an international stage.
“CeBIT PitchFest has a proud history of unearthing and supporting Australia’s leading technology start-up companies including ingogo, Mathspace and NetHealth. In 2017 the competition is stronger than ever before, reflecting the strength of Australia’s entrepreneurial community.
“It is inspiring to think how the innovations developed right here in Australia, have the potential to transform how the next generation of Australian’s live,” said Mr Stockbridge.
Previous winners of CeBIT PitchFest have gone onto become multi-million dollar, multinational companies. Previous winners include ingogo, which can now be seen installed in thousands of taxis across Australia, Mathspace which has grown phenomenally in just a few short years to be available in over 20 countries and NetHealth which has grown over 150 percent since winning PitchFest in 2016.
