SYDNEY, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national innovation focus has been hijacked by the tech start-up sector, rather than focusing on the established small and medium sized business that will drive growth, a government assistant minister said on Friday.
Australia is fast becoming the "FinTech Hub" of Asia, establishing various start-up hubs, implementing programs while removing regulatory barriers to encourage participation. FinTech itself is one of the fastest growing sectors in global financial services industry, with total investments in peer-to-peer lenders, payment services companies and internet insurers rising 60 percent to 19.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.
However the vast majority of growth in productivity -- which has been negative in Australia for eight years -- wont be from new business, but from already existing businesses over the next 12 months," Australian assistant minister for innovation Craig Laundy told the University of New South Wales Innovation summit on Friday.
"The innovation debate has been hijacked in a lot of ways by the tech start-up space," Laundy said, using a hair salon next to an innovation Launchpad in Launceston, Tasmania as an example.
"Inside the head of that hair (stylist) are probably multiple problems that they face on a daily basis which technology can probably help them overcome.
"Inside the head of every SME in (Australia) are problems they confront daily that technology and innovation could help them overcome."
The issue is the connectivity, or the bridge between research institutions that are developing the technologies the world needs and the SMEs in dire need of solutions.
"We rank second last, or last in the OECD for collaboration, that's where it falls over," Laundy said, laying down the challenge for those at the summit to reach out to businesses.
"That's the missing piece of the puzzle."
