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The broad reach of the resources industry

Keane Bourke
Keane Bourke
// After providing more than $600,000 of support to startups, Unearthed is hoping to help even more businesses make a difference in the resources sector.

After providing more than $600,000 of support to startups, Unearthed is hoping to help even more businesses make a difference in the resources sector.

Well-known for their resourcetech-focused hackathons and competitions, Unearthed is also working on promoting innovation in the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) industry through their regular accelerator program.

Having celebrated their fifth birthday earlier this year, Unearthed’s Accelerator General Manager, David Camerlengo, said startups will be the ones making a difference in the METS sector.

“It is no surprise to anyone living in Australia that the mining and resources sector is a huge market and large contributor to the Australian economy,” he told Startup News.

“However, mining and metals continues to lag [behind] other sectors in the realm of digital effectiveness, according to EY.

“This is a huge opportunity, and at Unearthed, we believe entrepreneurs and startups are the key to help solve global challenges in the resources sector; bringing external skills, ideas and solutions to a traditional sector.”

Fostering connections

David said the accelerator aims to connect startups directly to key players in the mining and METS sectors – valued by Deloitte at $236.8 billion in 2015/16.

“The Unearthed accelerator has been designed and is delivered in partnership with major resources customers to deliver real impact to the resources sector,” he said.

“Industry partners sit on the selection panel and hence have buy-in throughout the process.

“The Unearthed accelerator provides access to industry to break-down the barriers so startups can seek to pilot and validate their solutions, measure the impact and learn how to build a resilient and scalable business.

“The Unearthed network is unparalleled. We can connect startups to industry customers around the world, founders who have scaled and exited resources tech startups, and investors who understand how to help business scale in the sector.”

The accelerator’s alumni include Canaria, a formerly UK-based startup working on solutions to life-threatening issues in the resources sector, and Site See, who are combining artificial intelligence and reality modelling.

Unearthed just closed applications for the BUILD phase of their accelerator, designed for early-stage startups, and will soon be seeking interest for the SCALE phase, for those closer to entering the market.

Finding new talent

David said Unearthed’s work delivering hackathons and working with industry has helped them find opportunities for non-METS startups to break into the field.

“With this insight, we understand that often solutions to these challenges may come from niche technology startups that perhaps may not have ever considered the resources sector as a target market,” he said.

“The value the Unearthed accelerator provides is helping interesting tech startups, with the potential to build a scaleable business, to understand and access the resources sector as a target market.”

David said that although Unearthed has helped inject more than half a million dollars into the industry, their work is about more than money.

“We believe this is an important differentiation as we don’t believe there is a ‘one size fits all’ for startups that can benefit from our accelerator program,” he said.

“Some startups may benefit from the funding, while others may not require the capital and can still elect to participate in the accelerator without accepting funding.”

Startups should keep their eyes peeled for applications opening for the SCALE phase of the accelerator, pencilled in for mid-October.

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To learn more about Unearthed’s accelerator, click here.

Read more about some of Perth’s best founders and investors here

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Keane Bourke

Keane Bourke

Currently studying Journalism and Law at Curtin University, Keane has a passion for communications and marketing, and shining a light on the best and brightest startups. Since late-October 2018, he has been working on a marketing project with Unearthed Solutions.
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