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The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2022 reveals the growing status of Australia’s startup ecosystem. Sydney remains Australia’s startup capital, with a USD 67 billion startup ecosystem.
FREMONT, CA: Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two leading lights in the FinTech industry, have quickly become meccas for companies looking to plug into an existing technology framework and reap its benefits while maintaining ties with countries as diverse as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Sydney, in particular, is advancing to the point where it can challenge Singapore as the APAC region's FinTech capital, currently hosting more than 60 per cent of the country's financial technology companies. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2022 reveals Australia's growing startup ecosystem. With a USD 67 billion startup ecosystem, Sydney remains Australia's startup capital. Fintech remains Australia's most popular startup sector, accounting for 31 per cent of total VC funding in Oceania. According to the report, the majority of Australia's tech startups are based in Sydney, which also has the largest ecosystem in Oceania. Oceania saw a 50 per cent increase in exits of USD 50 million or more. During the same period, early-stage funding in the region increased by 80 per cent.
Oceania has created five new unicorns, including the fintech Airwallex, the people and culture analytics platform Culture Amp, and the business compliance checking platform SafetyCulture.
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The ecosystem saw two USD 1 billion+ exits, and its Knowledge factor increased from the previous year due to a 21 per cent increase in patients. New Zealand has also seen significant growth since last year, with seven exits worth more than USD 50 million and an increase in Ecosystem Value of USD 4.6 billion. Over 2,600 startups are based in Victoria, and they are quickly becoming the beating heart of a new economy; the startup sector is already the same size as Victoria's tourism industry. Melbourne, the state capital, is a vibrant centre for entrepreneurs in a wide range of industries, including life sciences, software as a service, artificial intelligence, blockchain, advanced manufacturing, IoT, big data, and finance. LaunchVic, the state's lead startup agency, continues to build infrastructure to support the ecosystem's growth. Its initiatives include the AUUSD 10 million Alice Anderson Fund, an angel sidecar for female-led startups, and the Victorian Startup Capital Fund, a fund of funds that aims to raise AUUSD 240 million (USD 168 million) to support Victorian early-stage startups with high growth potential.
While Australian FinTech has performed well in recent years, data suggest that there is still a lot of untapped potentials. According to a recent report compiled by the Committee for Sydney and KPMG, the country has the resources, talent, and infrastructure to become a global leader in emerging fields such as payments, regulatory technology, and blockchain, thanks in part to sound government policies that foster growth and innovation. To capitalise on this potential, Australia's FinTech companies must have access to the best employees, both domestically and internationally. New recruitment technologies are critical here, allowing for the rapid identification, interviewing, and hiring of top talent. The large population of Sydney, as well as the abundance of tech accelerators and incubators that are well positioned to support growing startups, contribute significantly to the city's appeal to FinTech businesses. Furthermore, Australia's large, tech-savvy population makes the country an ideal location to introduce new products before they go global.
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