Insurtech Gateway has received funding from the Australian Government to accelerate its incubation program in Australia.
The $250,000 Incubator Support Grant was announced this week and will help support the Gateway’s efforts to bring new disruptive and innovative startups to market in Australia.
The Gateway helps insurtechs by removing the traditional barriers to entry in a highly regulated market and providing founders with mentoring, seed funding and access to its network of insurance professionals.
Insurtech Gateway Australia CEO Simon O’Dell said the successful grant application was validation of the Gateway incubation model and early success onboarding businesses with applications for global scale.
“We have three very exciting projects in incubation, including a pay-as-you-drive motor insurance offering and self-insurance model for health care,” Mr O’Dell.
“We also have a strong pipeline of new opportunities and this grant provides our portfolio founders with greater certainty in expediting product-market-fit locally.”
Mr O’Dell said Gateway Australia was a replication of the UK Gateway model that had successfully incubated more than 13 companies to date. Six of those companies were named in the FinTech Global’s Top 100 Insurtechs 2020. He said the connection with the UK team would ensure Australian founders were presented with the best opportunity to realise global scaling.
Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan said the Morrison-McCormack Government had recognised the potential of the company, which has offices in Coffs Harbour, Sydney and Brisbane, to help bring new disruptive and innovative start-ups into market in Australia and potentially overseas.
“The North and Mid North Coasts are home to some truly innovative thinkers with cutting-edge business ideas,” he said.
“Our Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Programme is designed to help innovative start-ups grow and commercialise their business ideas.
“The $250,000 Federal grant to Insurtech Gateway Australia will help it establish here, and in turn, Insurtech will help other suitable start-ups to implement successful pilots and become successful businesses.”
The Gateway is also looking to establish roots on the ground in the US and Asia.
More information on the Australian Government’s Incubator Support initiative – here.
Since 2016, the initiative has provided $22.2 million in funding to new and existing incubators, which have in turn supported more than 1100 Australian start-ups.