Medical cannabis company Montu wins back-to-back growth award

Medical cannabis company Montu has claimed back-to-back crowns on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 list for the first time in the program’s 23-year history, registering three-year growth pushing 10,000%.

In a two-decade first, medical cannabis company Montu has backed up last year’s Technology Fast 50 title to once again claim top spot on the latest annual list compiled by professional services firm Deloitte.

The Melbourne-based platform’s three-year growth rate was almost double that of its closest challenger, business payments and rewards platform Pay.com.au, while Zip Co was recognised with a new award for sustained performance.

Now into its 23rd year, Deloitte’s Fast 50 program assesses the growth of locally-based tech enterprises over the prior three years, with past winners and finalists including Atlassian, NextDC, Afterpay, and Menulog among the many future successes. Montu, however, is the first company in the compilation’s history to go back-to-back, following up the massive 20,728% growth recorded over the previous period with a 9,616% figure for the years 2021 to 2023.

“The growth is testament to the importance of medical cannabis as a viable treatment option and how we as an organisation have a singular focus on improving affordability and accessibility for patients,” Montu said of its latest accolade. “The statistics are clear: medical cannabis is a legitimate treatment option for hundreds of thousands of Australians living with common and chronic conditions. This is why we’re working so hard to lead the industry in a positive direction.”

The healthcare sector also featured in the Rising Star category for newer entities, with digital consultations platform Updoc achieving 15,924% growth to take the crown ahead of mental health support organisation Midnight Health, which recorded 8,376% growth of its own. Alongside healthtech, the fintech sector was also noted as a standout performer, including overall runner-up Pay.com.au with growth of 5,063%

“This year’s winners showcase the way that technology companies are stepping up to help solve current societal issues,” stated Deloitte Fast 50 lead partner Josh Tanchel. “In response to ongoing cost-of-living and financial pressures, flexible payment option companies have seen impressive growth. And following Covid-19 and a healthcare system that was stalling for progress, telehealth and tech-enabled health and well-being solutions have taken the lead.”

Meanwhile, buy-now-pay-later platform Zip Co has taken home a new, combined Leadership & Enterprise Growth award for companies which earned above $50 million in revenues in their last reporting year, while the co-founders of skilled talent network Expert360 – former Bain & Company consultants Bridget Loudon and Emily Yue – were recognised with a Female Leadership award for steering the start-up to growth of 891%.

“Australia continues to punch above its weight in the global tech stakes,” commented Deloitte technology sector leader Bec McConnochie. “We contribute 2.3% of the world’s tech unicorns compared to 1.6% of global GDP. Technology is now our third-largest sector behind financial services and mining. As a nation, we have the potential to grow into an innovation and technology hub, with a world-leading digital economy that will drive jobs and financial growth.”