A group of tech start-ups, including developers of a solution to boost plastics packaging recycling, will take part in a six-month tech accelerator program developed by BlueChilli and supported by Coca-Cola Amatil.
Picked from Australia and New Zealand, the 12 start-ups were chosen from a group of 40 to participate in the inaugural Xcelerate program.
The six-month program, launched by tech start-up accelerator BlueChilli, will give the early-stage entrepreneurs the chance to make their innovative idea a global reality.
Since the program's launch in April, there were 300 eligible entries submitted, which were narrowed down to 40, each of which were selected for a bootcamp.
A total of 41 per cent of this number were female founders.
The objective of the bootcamp was to provide the founders an opportunity to assess the viability and strength of their ideas.
For the 12 chosen to go through, the accelerator will provide them with an initial $38,000 equity investment, mentoring, training, and a complete technical team to help build their ideas into real businesses and accelerate their growth.
The six-month program includes a co-working space, weekly workshops, talks and office hours with Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, regular mentor contact, and a structured program for each entrepreneur, designed to give their idea the best chance of business success. Also included is a technology team and dedicated product manager to help build the business offering.
Coca-Cola Amatil is a key partner in the program.
Following the six-month program, the most successful start-ups will be eligible for up to a further $500,000 investment from BlueChilli and its venture partners, and up to a further $200,000 investment from Coca-Cola Amatil.
The successful founders include Trish Hyde, Murray Hyde, and Ben Reay from PlastX (which makes it easier for brands to fulfil their promise to solve plastic pollution by sourcing recovered plastic directly from communities); Surjeet Taank and Harman Singh from Kargologic (helping clients access full capacity trucks at a reasonable cost from reputable owner operators and carriers on a single platform in real-time); and Andrea Watson from NightRider: AirBnB for trucks.
