March 22, 2023

UOW to host Regional Innovation Summit for Entrepreneurs in the Bega Valley

Summit will bring together industry leaders, regional entrepreneurs, investors, and government in one place

Entrepreneurs, business owners, and problem solvers come together at the Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre from 29 to 31 March 2023 for the Regional Innovation Summit for Entrepreneurs (RISE). The Summit is presented by the University of Wollongong (UOW) iAccelerate and aims to support the growth of regional businesses, build connections, and advance ideas.

UOW iAccelerate was awarded $999,570 in 2021 from the Federal and NSW Governments’ combined Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLER) to bring the program to 10 bushfire-affected regions, including four Local Aboriginal Land Council areas.

The RISE initiative has now delivered education programs to support the most promising entrepreneurs and business owners in bushfire-affected areas to create new jobs.

The Summit will bring together regional entrepreneurs, industry leaders, investors, and government in one place to highlight promising regional businesses, connect entrepreneurs, industry, investors, and government, and to showcase First Nations business perspectives.

_{iAccelerate Director, Dr Tamantha Stutchbury}

"RISE is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and business owners in the bushfire-affected regions to connect and exchange ideas," said iAccelerate Director, Dr Tamantha Stutchbury.

“This RISE program is really the genesis of the ecosystem to support regional entrepreneurs.  The RISE Summit will bring together diverse perspectives, foster collaboration and create a fertile environment for ideas and knowledge exchange – creating new opportunities in the regions.”

“RISE has attracted local, national and international speakers who share expertise in different ways on entrepreneurship and supporting entrepreneurs. Our focus is twofold – the first stream is directed to entrepreneurs; with panel discussions on Getting Investment and Getting Customers.  The second stream is for people supporting regional entrepreneurs; with panel discussions on Regional Trends local and global and a discussion on Circularity.

“One Time – One Place.  There is no other place in Australia where our RISE regional entrepreneurs can connect with other regional entrepreneurs, leaders in industry and three levels of government.”

The RISE program was developed in consultation with local government and in speaking to the local communities.

iAccelerate is one of 195 local community projects supporting economic or social recovery, strengthening resilience and delivering ongoing community benefit to bushfire-affected communities in NSW to receive Stage 2 BLER funding.

About the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Package

The Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Package is part of the $4.5 billion bushfire support program co-funded by the Australian and NSW governments for bushfire recovery, response and preparedness in NSW.

About iAccelerate

iAccelerate is a unique business accelerator and incubator program at UOW, where start-ups, scaleups, social enterprises and businesses thrive. Businesses are supported by a robust model of education, mentoring, seed funding and unparalleled access to one of the world’s most innovative young research universities.