Melbourne has officially been named Australia’s most innovative city, showing the Victorian Government’s support for innovation and forward-thinking is paying off.
Melbourne is now 11th in the world, beating out interstate rivals and leapfrogging Sydney to lead the country and strengthening its position as an emerging tech hub in the Asia-Pacific.
The annual Innovative Cities Index, released by data analytics company 2ThinkNow, ranks 500 cities across the world and is now in its 12th year.
Melbourne’s rise in rank is credited to a healthy startup ecosystem, vibrant creative industries and use of innovation in industries like medtech and pharma, advanced manufacturing, food and fibre, and sport.
It is also thanks in part to Victorian Government-led entities like LaunchVic who provide support and funding to early-stage startups and scaleups giving them the tools and information they need to thrive.
To date, LaunchVic has supported 386 companies and more than 4800 entrepreneurs providing mentorships, accelerator programs, bootcamps and other support for early-stage businesses to reach their full potential.
Melbourne’s booming innovation ecosystem features numerous $1 billion-plus valuation companies including Culture Amp, REA Group, MYOB, CarSales.com.au, Aconex, Envato, PolyNovo, Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, Airwallex and Latitude Financial.
The government is using innovation to prepare for the future with Internet of Things Trials on farms, free cyber-security courses being offered to TAFE students and events like Intersekt, CISCO Live and Reimagination.
The Innovation Cities Global Index top 10 for 2019 is:
- New York
- Tokyo
- London
- Los Angeles
- Singapore
- Paris
- Chicago
- Boston
- San Francisco/San Jose (Silicon Valley) and
- Toronto.
