KPMG launches search for Australia’s top tech innovators

Australian tech entrepreneurs are being invited to apply for KPMG’s latest Tech Innovator competition, with the local pitch winner set to go up against innovators from 25+ other countries in the global final.

The third annual Tech Innovator competition is underway, with the overall winner given the chance to compete for the global crown at this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon.

The consultancy is calling for submissions from Australian-based entrepreneurs running either pure tech companies or otherwise tech-enabled, tech-driven or tech-led businesses. The competition is an initiative of KPMG’s High Growth Ventures wing, led by Amanda Price.

To be eligible, companies need to be registered in Australia, have been operating for less than five years and currently generating between US$1 million and US$15 million in revenues, (or have raised at least US$500,000 in equity), and not be majority-owned by a large corporation.

In addition, selected participants must be available to pitch at the national finals in July, the winner of which will go on to compete at November’s Web Summit against other finalists.

This year’s annual summit in Lisbon is expected to attract 70,000 investors, founders, policymakers and industry professionals across a jam-packed three-day schedule, with speaking opportunities, networking events, and a booth presence open to the Australian competition winner.

Participants will also gain national exposure throughout the competition via KPMG media channels, as well as get the chance to mix with key industry experts and tech company peers.

The firm says successful applicants are typically those transitioning from start-up to the next phase of growth, with innovative proven technologies and a robust business model in place.

The panel of expert judges will consider six key criteria; disruption and innovation, market potential and traction, customer adoption, marketing, long-term potential, and pitch quality, with pitches to be delivered to an audience of startup advisors, venture capitalists, and last year’s competition winner, Goterra.

“The recognition of the KPMG Tech Innovator Award Australia was most meaningful to us as a team,” said Olympia Yarga, the waste management start-up’s founder and CEO. “Creating a world-first technology that has never been done before is difficult – there’s no blueprint or manual to follow; we’re innovating and engineering to find the best solution as we go. Being celebrated for that and meeting many people outside of Goterra who want us to succeed was special.”

Together with KPMG’s High Growth Ventures team – which has supported more than 200 start-ups since its inception in 2017, including the likes of Canva – KPMG is also currently administering two other tech innovation competitions in Australia; its Future Technology accelerator program alongside Stone & Chalk, which this year focuses on start-ups in the space sector, and the Nature Positive Challenge, now extended to companies operating in the South Pacific.