Stone & Chalk launches ‘mega-hub’ to rev up fintech in Australia

Business incubator, Stone Chalk, has unveiled a ‘mega-hub’ that aims to unite fintech across Sydney and Melbourne, further cementing Australia as a natural “centre of gravity” for fintech.

The not-for-profit organisation, considered the largest fintech hub in Asia and the centre of gravity for fintech in Australia, has launched a new national capability across its new home at the Goods Shed North in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD innovation precinct, and its residency in the Sydney Startup Hub.

With Melbourne and Sydney representing over 80 per cent of all fintech activity across Australia, the new east-coast ‘mega-hub’ will give startups, scale-ups, corporates, and investors nationwide opportunities for collaboration and resource-sharing, according to the firm.

The launch of the ‘mega-hub’ follows the opening of the Victorian Government’s startup agency, LaunchVic, also in the Goods Shed North, where Stone Chalk Melbourne will now be housed alongside CSIRO’s Data61, That Startup Show, Startmate, Stone Chalk partner SproutX, and The Medtech Actuator.

Alan Tsen

“What many people don’t realise is that fintech intersects with a large number of other industries. Being able to collaborate under one roof with of a variety of industry verticals is a huge advantage of being positioned within the highly diverse Victorian Innovation Hub,” according to Stone Chalk Melbourne general manager, Alan Tsen. “We’ve already partnered with other key parts of the Victorian ecosystem to bring this cross-pollination to life, and so are excited to bring our residents even more possibilities for collaboration across other verticals through our residency in the Hub. We believe that bringing all of these possibilities together into a national program will assist the continuing growth of the Australian fintech ecosystem as a whole.”

Stone Chalk CEO, Alex Scandurra, said if Australia is to realise the goals of the National Innovation Science Agenda and become the ‘innovation nation,’ it will require a strong mentality shift away from a competitive mind set amongst startups towards one of collaboration and mutual success.

Alex Scandurra

“This collaboration should also be extended between industry and startups. As an example, our Accelerated Commercialisation programs bring together corporate partners with startups and scale-ups to solve real commercial opportunities within a structured framework. Only by taking a collaborative approach across the board will we come close to achieving our innovation dreams.”

The work of Stone Chalk startups and scale-ups spans financial services, ranging from open banking and cybersecurity, to blockchain commercialisation, IoT, connected devices, insurtech and agricultural finance.