$60m Gold Coast Hub site revealed
A TECHNOLOGY hub that brings together $60 million in investment funds for Gold Coast start-ups will be based at Burleigh Heads.
The former Billabong factory, in the “Wave” building, will host a swell of new people and businesses as it morphs into The Gold Coast Hub.
Its backers hope it will be a physical and virtual space for present and future business leaders to connect, commercialise and grow innovative companies.
Gold Coast Hub CEO Sharon Hunneybell said the 2000 sqm site, at 20 Kortum Dr, was designed to bring together the city’s innovators in a central location built for collaboration and growth.
“This site is quite literally transforming from a place that manufactured board shorts and bikinis, to a place that manufactures innovative companies and acts as the catalyst for the Gold Coast innovation community,” she said.
“The Gold Coast Hub is not for profit but is designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the purpose of producing commercial business outcomes.
“Our aim is to see it become the key economic diversification driver for the Gold Coast following the 2018 Commonwealth Games.”
The Gold Coast Hub was founded earlier this year by the leadership team behind Gold Coast software company, Opmantek, with support from the City of Gold Coast, the Queensland State Government and the corporate sector.
Operators plan a soft launch for the facility late next month, with the completed hub set to launch in January.
The plan has received State Government funding of $500,000 over three years, support from corporate advisory firm New Wave Capital and global trade exchange business BPS Technology which have pledged $600,000 in cash and $700,000 in-kind donations.
Ms Hunneybell said the hub was the culmination of a six-year quest to develop a model for international business creation on the Gold Coast centred around leveraging funding, expertise and relationships. Investment funds have pledged $60 million of investment for Gold Coast businesses through the hub.
The Gold Coast Hub will be managed by leading innovation space managers Little Tokyo Two.
Little Tokyo Two founder Jock Fairweather said his team would work to see the Gold Coast globally recognised as an entrepreneurial hotspot.
“Little Tokyo Two made the decision to partner with the Gold Coast Hub team based off their experience, credibility, vision and just as importantly passion — for supporting local businesses and the city as a whole,” he said.
“We cannot wait to aid them in bringing this vision to life and invite the city’s emerging and established businesses to make the Gold Coast Hub and wider precinct their new home.”
Organisations wishing to locate inside the hub or become hub members can register at www.gchub.com.au.