Melbourne It Plans Super Incubator
The Age
Tuesday June 1, 1999
A SUPER INCUBATOR for up to 50 small IT companies will be set up near Melbourne University by the end of the year.
Melbourne IT, a spin-off business of the university, has decided to build on and expand its existing five-company incubator, which includes Bluetongue Media and Active Concepts.
Newly appointed manager of major projects, Ian Smart, said he was already hunting for a location with good communications facilities and would be moving the first of the companies in by the end of the year.
He said companies chosen for the incubator would be those with potentially commercial projects and ideas in the multimedia, Internet and e-commerce areas.
Melbourne IT will take a small equity stake in each, in the expectation that some will succeed on a large scale, while others may fail.
Incubator facilities include office spaces, communications facilities and support from Melbourne University-related bodies such as the Melbourne Business School.
Smart would not reveal the total cost of the project.
He said it would go ahead regardless of funding from the State Government's recently-announced technology development fund, but that "there's real potential for us to benefit from that program".
Smart was formerly involved in running the state's Skills.net project
Melbourne IT's website is at www.melbourneit.com.au
© 1999 The Age
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