Setting up local fish cleaning facilities around the Noosa waterways and helping the elderly with internet technology were among the business ideas raised last week at Innovate Noosa’s Young Starters Pitch like a Pro workshop.
The workshop attracted 17 young people aged 16-24 years, including a group from the Noosa Community Training Centre, who were mentored by young entrepreneur Macca Reardon.
Spokeswoman Kate Bowmaker said the event aimed to help young locals progress their business ideas and help solve problems they encountered.
“They were taken through a series of activities, which included defining the problem, the target audience, the value of the idea and what they’d need to progress their venture to the next stage,” she said.
An innovation networking evening followed the workshop and was attended by 75 local business people and state and local government politicians. It promoted the sharing of new projects being developed in the region
“The networking evening was also a chance for some of the young participants to share the ideas they’d started working on during the workshop to a captive audience of business leaders,” Kate said.
“Young participants reiterated to the group the need for these training and workshop opportunities, and to continue to focus on building the innovation ecosystem in Noosa.”
In a broader project Innovate Noosa in partnership with CCIQ Noosa has received federal government funding to create a “capacity development tool” specific to the Noosa region.
The tool, scheduled for release in July, will give Noosa residents access to guidance and tips for starting a new business venture, along with information about the resources available to them in the Noosa region such as mentoring groups, courses and coworking spaces, Kate said.
