More than 100 start-ups will descend on Darling Harbour next week to feature at CeBIT StartUp, which will include a three-day exhibition, an investor pitch day and a one-day conference.
CeBIT StartUp, hosted as part of technology showcase CeBIT Australia, is based on the German-designed CODE_n event, conducted earlier this year at CeBIT in Hannover.
CeBIT Australia is organised by Hannover Fairs Australia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of global trade group company Deutsche Messe AG.
Since 2002, CeBIT Australia has attracted more than 310,000 visitors from more than 100 countries and more than 6,000 exhibitors from 36 countries.
CeBIT StartUp, which is touting itself as Australia’s largest-ever start-up event, will be held at Darling Harbour from May 28-30.
“We are ambitious about our target to get 100 companies involved, and we certainly believe it will be the largest event of its kind,” a Hannover Fairs Australia spokesperson told StartupSmart.
“It is also very different when compared to other start-up events held in this country. The conference and pitch and funding day that you will see on the program are incredibly strong.
“But the real value of our event is through the visitors to CeBIT Australia. The event gives these start-ups access to 35,000 business users over three days.
“It gives the start-ups an opportunity to refine their own value-proposition by speaking to large numbers of users that are seeking solutions to specific problems.
“That is the point – to allow local start-ups to leverage our mainstream business platform. And we think there is a lot of value for the whole industry in doing that.”
According to the spokesperson, exhibition options are still available. To be eligible, start-ups must not have exhibited at CeBIT before.
“We’re trying to fill the floor and we will, so if anyone’s interested we encourage them to apply and we will certainly have a look at it,” he says.
Jackie Taranto, managing director of Hannover Fairs Australia, said in a statement the start-ups will also showcase their wares to potential investors.
“The aim of the event is to put people into the room who can really engage and drive the start-up sector,” Taranto said.
“These start-ups will have an audience of serious investors from corporate, institutional and private funding sources.”
In addition to a conference, start-ups will have access to niche market mentoring, sideline hook-up rooms, “cloud-tastic” networking, mentors, policy experts and a government crash course.
Meanwhile, American entrepreneur and engineer Harper Reed has been confirmed as a keynote speaker. In 2011, Reed served as the chief technology officer for US President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
“Harper Reed’s approach to managing big data and cloud has seen him recognised as the technology mastermind behind the Obama win,” Jackie Taranto, managing director of Hannover Fairs Australia, said in a statement.
Other confirmed speakers include Commercialisation Australia chief executive Doron Ben-Meir, SYD Ventures founder Andrey Shirben and Tank Stream Ventures’ Sandra Plunkett.
There will also be a number of Australian entrepreneurs speaking – the founders of Ingogo, BuyReply, Jayride, Pocketbook, Ninja Blocks and TheBestDay will all take to the stage.
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