Invest Victoria’s Investor Partner Summit explored opportunities for technology companies in Melbourne

Invest Victoria hosted its inaugural Investor Partner Summit Asia 2022 earlier this month in Singapore which brought together governments, venture capitals, accelerators and startups across Southeast Asia, Mumbai and Tokyo to discuss new technology and innovation opportunities in Victoria.

Asia is a priority region for attracting foreign direct investment the Victorian Government and in the past two years alone, the state has welcomed companies such as NCS (Singapore), Homage (Singapore), Softbank (Japan), Bukalapak (Indonesia) and Infosys (India) that have established a technology presence in Melbourne.

Raj Kurup, President of the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) moderated a panel on talent attraction alongside Michele Manigart, Chief Strategy Officer at SEEK Asia and Wynthia Goh, Senior Partner, NEXT NCS. The audience also heard from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on how highly skilled talents from the region can tap into its Global Talent Visa program. Three scaleups – Homage, CAC-H2 and Green Li-ion shared their journeys in scaling into Victoria and collaborating with universities for research and development.

The Summit provided an opportunity for Treasurer and Minister for Economic Development the Hon., Tim Pallas to share key initiatives announced in the State’s 2022-23 Budget, including the following highlights:

  • $2.6 billion allocated to get Victoria ready to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026, (please include refernce to regional VIctoria if referenced in budget announcement,[1]
  • $40 million over two years to help fast-growing companies expand in the state through the Victorian Industry Investment Fund in key sectors such as health, food production, technology, advanced manufacturing and business services,[2]
  • Almost $111 million to attract more international visitors, secure new events and bolster Victoria’s iconic sport and tourism infrastructure.[3]

The CEO of Breakthrough Victoria, an independent investment management company, established to manage the $2B Breakthrough Victoria Fund, presented an overview of the fund including the objective to target innovation and translational research with strong potential across the following five priority industry sectors: health and life-sciences, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, clean economy and digital technologies.

AAS members interested to expand your business into Victoria may visit the Invest Victoria website or contact sharifah.khairunnisa@global.vic.gov.au for a discussion.

[1] Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, The Victorian Budget 2022-23,

https://djpr.vic.gov.au/about-us/news/victorian-budget-2022-23,

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

With strong talent pools, a tech-friendly environment, and governmental support, Victoria’s capital is a competitive APAC business center.

Do save-the-date for the AAS 67th Anniversary Gala Dinner on 12 Nov 2022, Sat at Stamford Ballroom @ Fairmont Singapore.