Fearless Conversations: Chief entrepreneur urges businesses to boost R&D spend
The state’s chief entrepreneur says innovation and investment in research and development will be the keys to success for businesses emerging from Covid-19.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The state’s chief entrepreneur is urging businesses to boost their investment in research & development in the wake of Covid-19, arguing innovation will be the key to success in the wake of the pandemic.
Speaking at the Fearless Conversation on innovation and enterprise, Andrew Nunn said it was important for business owners and managers to embrace a culture of innovation within their organisations, and back that up with financial investment.
“The concept that businesses more broadly need to invest in R&D, and really have that as a core value of what they’re doing – I think as a state we need to be trying to up our R&D spend, up our R&D rebates we get from the federal government to really push that,” he said.
“You need to create an environment where people can come and say here’s an idea let’s have a look at that.
“Creating innovation awards or innovation weeks or just a time every week for somebody to come and have a chat about some innovative ideas I think is a really good discipline for a business to get into if it’s going to open itself up to expanding and growing on the basis of innovation.”
R&D tax incentives currently offer businesses a tax offset for expenditure on eligible R&D activities.
Tammy Barton, who has grown MyBudget into a South Australian business success story, said encouraging innovation across the organisation was a key to success.
“We’re encouraging that innovation all the time internally and saying it’s OK if it doesn’t work, we’ve got budget for that and that budget is there to be used to try new things,” she said.
“It has to be part of our culture, you have to embed it in all of your conversations with your people, with your team, reward people for being innovative and also reward those ideas that don’t work, to say it’s OK.”
Mr Nunn, who co-founded environmental consulting group JBS&G Australia in the early 2000s and succeeded Jim Whalley as the state’s second chief entrepreneur earlier this year, said targeted financial investment from government was important to support business innovation, but more important was creating the right culture.
“I’m not a huge one for saying the government needs to fund everything but I do think the government has a leadership role,” he said.
“Governments do have a very key role to play – it’s not funding everything but it is building a culture of innovation, supporting really good ideas and then assisting getting private money in to grow those ideas.”
HI-TECH INDUSTRY
Space, defence and cyber will underpin future growth in the state’s economy, but more support is needed for start-ups and small businesses looking to tap into hi-tech industries, Flinders University’s Melissa de Zwart says.
Speaking at the Fearless Conversation on innovation and enterprise, Professor de Zwart said many start-ups struggled to navigate the onerous regulatory regimes and compliance requirements of working in hi-tech industries.
“In terms of innovators it’s actually very difficult and expensive for them to get legal advice and help on intellectual property, and when we talk to start-ups that’s exactly what they need help on - sometimes it’s just in navigating those fundamentals,” she said.
“Some of the projects I’ve been involved in have been doing open access explainers – if I’m a space start-up what are the fundamental legal and regulatory things that I need to know?
“That should be available to them for free, whether that’s funded by government, those sorts of things are really public good things that everybody needs to know.
“There is a real need to make sure that sort of assistance to the start-ups continues to be provided.”
Professor de Zwart joined Flinders University last month as Professor in Digital Technology, Security and Governance at the Jeff Bleich Centre.
The centre, named after the former US Ambassador, was established in June 2019 to investigate the challenges posed by digital technology and its regulation, and provide advice through research.
In light of the new AUKUS defence alliance, the centre will also address technology and information sharing between alliance members.
“Information exchange between different countries is actually very complicated matter and so part of what the Jeff Bleich Centre will be doing is to assist in making those relationships more accessible to people further down the chain,” Professor de Zwart said.
“We know that defence is really interested in procuring innovative technology and that’s the case in the three members of AUKUS.
“Understanding what those relationships are at the high strategic level, but also then being able to translate them down to Australian educators, Australian businesses, to help defence work through those things is really important.”
SA chief entrepreneur Andrew Nunn said space, defence, cyber and other hi-tech industries would drive the state’s economy forward for “decades and generations to come”.
“I don’t think we realise yet the importance of being the home of the space agency - I think that’s going to drive an enormous amount of growth over the next decade,” he said.
“Defence, renewable energy, mining, cyber-security - these are going to be the cornerstones of what we do in South Australia, which underpins our growth going forward for decades and generations to come.”
PURPOSE BEFORE PROFIT
Social entrepreneur Eloise Hall is calling on businesses to shift their mindset in the wake of Covid-19, and put purpose before profit as they emerge from the pandemic.
Ms Hall and Walford College schoolmate Isobel Marshall launched their social enterprise - Taboo Period Products - during their last year of high school, reinvesting profits from the sale of pads and tampons into programs aimed at eradicating “period poverty”.
Ms Hall said businesses had been paying more attention to social causes, and hoped the trend would continue in the wake of Covid-19.
“We were really certain, and we still are that business is shifting for a social outcome because at the end of the day we are social beings, we seek social reward and I think it’s in our human nature to invest in things that make a return or make other people’s lives better,” she said.
“As a social entrepreneur I see so much potential and opportunity to learn about our social connection in Covid-19 and understand what really matters, and then really apply that to business.
“And to change that consumer behaviour to really seek out the businesses that have really high standards of ethical and social output and thinking broader than just profit, thinking more than just money in a creative way because I think that’s he way we can pave a better future.”
MENTORING
A pair of Adelaide entrepreneurs will see their innovative product hit the shelves of Big W and Toyworld in the new year after securing a major licensing deal with global toy brand Mattel.
Ten years after launching Play Pouch - a modern version of the vintage “sheet and string” Lego sack - founders Kate Campbell and Kate O’Donoghue have released a new range featuring Mattel favourites including Hot Wheels, Barbie and Thomas & Friends.
It follows of five years of huge growth for the business, with turnover increasing by more than five times over that period on the back of new global distribution networks.
Ms Campbell described the licensing deal as a “game-changer” for the business.
“It’s been a really long process and it really is a game-changer for us,” she said.
“We hope to own the category globally - by having your product licensed it gets the attention of all the mass retailers globally.
“And because our product is quite innovative and it solves the problem, it’s not a hard sell.”
Play Pouch - a play mat and toy storage bag in one - is currently sold online, in boutique children’s, toy and gift stores across the country, and through distributors in the US, Asia and the Middle East.
Next week, Ms Campbell will help launch Business SA’s Encore program - a workshop and mentoring program for entrepreneurs aged 35 or over.
She is a previous participant in the program.
Business SA chief executive Martin Haese said Encore provided technical training in strategy and business planning, as well as mentoring.
“Entrepreneurs are seriously curious people,” he said.
“Some people may think they are a little reckless, but it takes a very disciplined approach to succeed when taking a new business from ideation to creation.”
Business SA will host a launch event for Encore on October 28.
More Coverage
Regulators turning the screws on RAMS
Westpac has moved to shut down RAMS, with concerns its lending subsidiary wrote bad loans now seeing the banking major embroiled in regulatory probes.
China’s move on rare earths ‘highlights need for stockpile’
China’s action in moving to cut off the supply of rare earths and permanent magnets to the Western world underlines the need for Australia to create a strategic reserve of critical minerals.