WA Joins MIT University’s Innovative Entrepreneurship Program.

Western Australia is poised to reap the benefits of joining Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) aimed at boosting development of the State's innovation ecosystem.

MIT admits a cohort of up to eight regions annually to participate in the two-year program and WA joins seven other regions: Piauí (Brazil), Hungary, the Dominican Republic, and United States teams from Kansas City, Des Moines, Omaha and St Louis, as Cohort 9.

MIT REAP Faculty Co-Director Professor Scott Stern says after delivering the program for ten years to more than 70 global teams, they know the regional approach works and are looking forward to working with the new Cohort to develop unique strategies for their regions.

“No one is in charge of entrepreneurship; instead, multiple stakeholders are required to tackle big problems and enable the success of novel solutions – across business, healthcare, education and more,” Professor Stern explains.

“MIT REAP is designed to help teams identify their region’s comparative advantage, engage a network of regional leaders, and build a strategy for accelerating innovation-driven entrepreneurship and creating real value and impact.”

WA team members represent the five major stakeholder groups that can collaboratively progress an innovation-driven entrepreneurship (IDE) ecosystem. They are:

University:  Rohan McDougall, Director of Commercialisation, Curtin University

Government: Charlie Gunningham, Director of Innovation, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation

Corporate: Neil Freeman, Manager Innovation, Rio Tinto

Risk Capital: Nicole Lockwood, Founder and Director, Lockwood Advisory and Larry Lopez Partner, Australian Venture Consultants.

Entrepreneurs: Jennifer Halton, Chief Impact Officer, Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation; Brodie McCulloch, Founder and Managing Director, Spacecubed; Paula Taylor, Executive Director, West Tech Fest; Martin Collard, Chief Collaboration Officer, Austmine; Leslie Delaforce, Indigenous Entrepreneurship Director, Minderoo Foundation 

They say their vision is to deliver the fastest growing start-up community in Australia, stimulating jobs creation, developing a more diverse economy, and fuelling growth in diversity and inclusion across the ecosystem. 

The team is in Phase 1 of the program which invites local entrepreneurs and risk capital providers to help the WA team better understand the needs of its communities.

Director of Commercialisation at Curtin University Rohan McDougall explains this Phase will be achieved through a structured analysis of the ecosystem to better understand the needs of entrepreneur and risk capital communities, conducted through surveys and focus groups, from which a detailed stakeholder engagement plan will be developed.

“We are confident that over the next two years, with the support of the professors and researchers from MIT, the team will be successful in stimulating a boom in entrepreneurial activity for Western Australia,” he says.

WA Innovation and ICT Minister Stephen Dawson says participating in MIT REAP is a chance for Western Australia to examine its early-stage innovation ecosystem, see where the gaps are, how to fill them and what is best practice around the world.

"Our goal is to create jobs through innovation to help diversify the State's economy, grow new sectors and position WA as the best place for innovators to live and work,” he says.

"By comparing and contrasting ourselves to other regions in the world, we can take what works well elsewhere, what makes sense for Western Australia and try it here.

"Over the next two years, I look forward to seeing how participating in MIT REAP boosts our early-stage innovation system and helps make Western Australia the best place it can be for entrepreneurs, innovators and start-ups."

Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation Chief Impact Officer Jennifer Halton says MIT REAP operates on a tried and tested model of stakeholder collaboration to co-design a sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that involves all voices in the community.

“The entrepreneur is equally represented in this model. We can’t move forward without capturing the wants and needs of our start-ups so we can build a strategy that leverages our unique community of founders and innovators,” she explains.  

“For CERI, this is the exciting opportunity REAP presents. When we actively listen and respond to our entrepreneurs, as well as other stakeholders, we will move boldly toward our collective vision of building the fastest growing start-up community in Australia, and simultaneously diversifying WA’s economy.”    

Director, Lockwood Advisory Nicole Lockwood says to attract more capital, WA needs a more robust pipeline of opportunities. 

“The MIT REAP program will assist to build the capability of the start-up community to ensure a volume of businesses exist for investment that can stay in WA,” she says.

Those interested in providing their opinion to assist in Phase 1 should reach out to info@mitreapwa.com.au.