Sue Findlay, Chair of the INCITE Awards, commented that Lateral’s continued support for the program is a boost of confidence for WA’s local tech and startup scene, especially in light of the current pandemic. 

“As a not for profit run program, the INCITE Awards relies on the sponsorship support of its industry leaders and companies to showcase innovation that lives here in Western Australia to run year on year, since the program started in 1991” said Sue.

“Lateral’s renewed Diamond sponsorship is a clear signal to our State’s digital innovators, tech start-ups and scale-ups, that there is strong support for their business not only during the challenging time we’re all facing now but also into the future recovery phase.” 

The INCITE Awards has been supporting over 500 Western Australian tech and ICT innovators to grow and succeed for the last 29 years. 

The Awards program does this through a competitive process that exposes all entrants to aspects of business development – investment pitching, marketing and industry networking – whilst also providing a pathway to the national iAwards and globally through the APICTA Awards. 

Tommy Shin, Chairperson of Lateral, explained that now, more than ever, it is essential that WA’s tech and startup scene continues to be nurtured, supported and locally grown. 

“Today’s pandemic has shown us that being digitally ready is essential for future proofing our businesses,” said Tommy. 

“Many of our homegrown startups and local tech have been supporting this digital readiness prior and during COVID-19 and they will continue to do so with more innovations in the recovery phase.” 

“I’ve been told of previous INCITE Awards winners – such as GroupMap – supporting schools and businesses currently with their online brainstorming tools, or this year’s Award entrant, Uno Group, providing free consumer trends monitoring to help businesses make decisions during COVID-19.” 

Tommy also indicated that Lateral themselves are also supporting many WA businesses – such as the Geraldton Fishermen Cooperative, Safety House WA and WA Health’s Communicable Control – survive and thrive with digital assistance. 

“So, now more than ever we need to support our local home grown tech and prevent a brain drain of our innovators,” said Tommy. 

“We hope that the early re-sign of our Diamond sponsorship for the Lateral INCITE Awards will not only be a confidence boost for our local tech scene but a signal for others who support WA innovation to also step out or up with their commitment.” 

In addition to renewing their Diamond sponsorship, Lateral has also committed to developing an INCITE’s event app, which will further support the Awards as it delivers its 2020 program virtually.