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Published: 5th April 2023
World-leading technology developed by Logan businesses, along with plans to expand the local innovation agenda, have been showcased to Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur today.
Chief Entrepreneur Julia Spicer OAM and Queensland Innovation Advisory Council members Professor Rowena Barrett, Nicholas Guest, Monica Bradley and Christine Williams visited Logan and some of the city’s most successful and inventive start-up companies, including BlockTexx, B&C Plastics and Go1.
Mayor Darren Power said Council proudly supported a diversified economy to meet community expectations and create opportunities for future generations.
“The City of Logan Community Vision, developed in 2021, says ‘Logan is a thriving, forward-thinking community, building a smart future by embracing innovation, diversity and equality for all’,” Cr Power said.
“We have lived up to that vision by investing around $3 million directly and indirectly over the past two years in delivering initiatives to attract and support scale-ups.
“Our coLab Growth Hub residency program supports companies for 12 months, and I’m pleased to say it has contributed to the creation or attraction of at least 35 high-value jobs to Logan, with an estimated long-term economic value of $65 million.
“We’ve also worked with our federal and state counterparts to help local businesses break into the United States market.”
Additionally, Council is working with New Zealand’s Creative HQ to deliver a 12-week SportXccelerating program to Queensland companies. The program provides innovative technology solutions that businesses can apply to their involvement in areas including sport, fitness, wellness, stadium management and eSports.
Economic Development Chair, Councillor Jon Raven said Council had clearly signalled its intention to attract innovative businesses and create jobs of the future – and the market had responded positively.
“Programs such as the coLab and the Investment Attraction Incentive Fund have been overwhelmingly successful,” Cr Raven said.
“We want to retain and attract tech-related scale-ups to create high-value jobs across the City of Logan.
“As these companies get to scale, they create new jobs in their own sector and traditional businesses too, so it’s important we create a welcoming ecosystem to attract and keep them.”
Council is investigating the establishment of an Innovation Precinct at Underwood and Slacks Creek as the city’s version of Silicon Valley in California.
Ms Spicer said she had heard much about the innovation activity happening across Logan.
“It is great to have the Innovation Advisory Council able to visit businesses and meet people working across a range of industries,” Ms Spicer said.
“We have enjoyed meeting with the movers and shakers across the city, who are working to solve community problems and grow the economy in the region.”
Background information: Julia Spicer OAM is Queensland’s fifth Chief Entrepreneur. She works with regional communities across the country, with a focus on identifying needs in business and implementing creative solutions to address them. The Innovation Advisory Council was established to champion innovation, connect ecosystem stakeholders, attract investment and build the resource base for accelerating innovation through entrepreneurial action, across Queensland, for better community and economic outcomes. Council’s coLab Growth Hub offers a 12-month residency program to scale-ups, the United States Market Access Program and SportXccelerating Growth Pilot Program. It is based at Underwood. BlockTexx is a clean technology company located in Loganholme that recovers polyester and cellulose from textiles and clothing. Their mission is to divert textiles and clothing away from landfill and accelerate the global textile recycling industry towards a sustainable future. B&C Plastics, located at Meadowbrook, has developed a solution to track, collect and recycle sources of used plastic product to upcycle into new products. Go1, based in Underwood, is an established leader in online learning and education, and continues to work alongside some of the largest companies in the world covering a wide range of industries and regions. Since 2015, the Queensland Government has provided $9.2 million in Advance Queensland funding to 236 recipients in the Logan area. Logan has some of the most sophisticated start-ups in Australia. The council’s vision to develop Logan into a major innovation hub closely aligns with the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland Innovation for a Future Economy 2022-2032 Roadmap, which has set out to accelerate the transformation of our economy to create more jobs in more industries by building the state’s capability in innovation and entrepreneurship and ensuring that all Queenslanders can take advantage of the opportunities arising from the emerging global future economy.