Airwallex for Startups aims to grow Australia’s unicorn count

Fintech unicorn Airwallex has just launched Airwallex for Startups — a new initiative aimed at assisting Australian startups in managing their financial operations more effectively.

“There are only nine unicorns in Australia right now and at Airwallex we’d love to see this number grow. As a homegrown business, we have a role in guiding our next generation of unicorns towards success,” Matthew Sek, VP of SME & Growth at Airwallex, said to SmartCompany.

“As a global fintech specifically, we know we can help founders and entrepreneurs with upskilling in all areas of money management, from cash flow management to capital raising. We know the pain points of startups acutely, having walked in their shoes ourselves not too long ago.”

One of the key financial benefits of the program is waiving payment acceptance fees of up to $50,000 for the first six months. According to the company, this will help startups onboard their first customers without the burden of additional costs.

Additionally, participants will receive zero fees on their first $50,000 in foreign exchange conversions.

While the initial six months have been mentioned specifically by Airwallex, there is scope for the program to expand in the future.

“The Airwallex for Startups program will grow with founders – we have an exciting product roadmap and members of the program will continue to gain early and exclusive access to various products and services as the program evolves,” Sek said.

The new initiative, which Airwallex has a dedicated hire for, is said to offer a range of other practical resources, networking opportunities and exclusive product offerings designed to facilitate the growth of local startups.

It also offers educational tools, access to a network of advisors, and financial benefits such as payment fee waivers, free employee cards for co-founders, and guidance from ecosystem partners on strategic areas.

The Airwallex for Startups program also has some exclusive offers from partners tailored to specific operational needs. These include partnerships with Scendar, Cake Equity, Upcover, RelevanceAI, Luna, One Roof and SPARK.

One participating startup will also receive a $10,000 Business Acceleration Grant to provide more direct financial support.

The program is open to all registered Australian businesses with employee counts ranging from 2 to 100.

According to Airwallex, this initiative is structured to support these businesses by providing them with the necessary tools to manage their finances from the outset of their operations.

Airwallex confirmed with SmartCompany some of the product offers will only be available to startups that are currently participating or applying for a pre-accelerator or accelerator program — or raising funding from a VC.

“We have lived and breathed money management since Airwallex launched eight-and-a-half years ago. We’ve made mistakes and learned from them, and now we want to help the next generation of startups learn and grow, too. There’s a misconception that you need to be at a certain stage before you level up on all things finance, but it’s never too early to get a handle on your money management.

“We have the most talented and innovative startup community right here in Australia and I have no doubt that this program will help startups go faster and harder in achieving their goals,” Sek said.

“It’s never too late, or too early, to get the foundations right to accelerate success.”