Sydney incubator offers soft landing for Asian startups looking Down Under

Heather McIlvaine

2nd Oct 2018

The list of Australian retailers selling online in China and other countries in Asia is long, thanks to the advent of online marketplaces, such as Alibaba’s Tmall and JD.com, and global nature of e-commerce.

But increasingly, Asian companies are looking to set up shop in Australia. They include a handful of retail companies, including the aforementioned e-commerce giants, Alibaba and JD, which opened offices in Australia last year.

Carousell is a much smaller retail business – a Gumtree-like peer-to-peer marketplace based in Singapore – that saw an opportunity to expand in the region last year, and could be a sign of things to come, with the recent launch of Haymarket HQ, a Sydney-based incubator targeting Asian startups eager to do business in Australia.

“Haymarket HQ’s mission is to support and connect entrepreneurs between Australia and Asia,” Duco van Breemen, general manager of Haymarket HQ, said.

“The Sydney Landing Pad will allow us to attract a new wave of international entrepreneurs, bringing in more international networks, sources of funding, innovation and expertise into Australia.”

The incubator’s ‘landing pad’ program is being funded to the tune of $40,000 over three years, as part of City of Sydney’s effort to strengthen business ties between Australia and Asia.

The funds will be used to provide office space for incoming businesses, as well as to offer comprehensive introduction-and-support programs for visiting entrepreneurs.

“The landing program is an ideal opportunity for Sydney to welcome more entrepreneurs from Asia and introduce investors to Australia’s largest tech startup community,” the Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.