Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said interest in the summit was testament to the potential for new jobs and new investment through innovation.

“So many new ideas and innovations are being developed every day and this Summit provides a fantastic platform for us to collaboratively work together and showcase them to the world,” she said.

Palaszczuk said the Advanced Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit will focus on strengthening local, national and international connections. Keynote speakers include Co-Founder of Apple Computer Inc. Steve Wozniak.

“The Summit will connect business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, government and industry leaders and help to create more momentum around commercialising Queensland ideas,” she said.

Modelled on the Queensland government’s North Queensland Economic Summit in Cairns last year, the Innovation and Investment Summit will include a Startup Festival.

Both the Summit and the Startup Festival are oversubscribed. There are more than 700 registrations for the Summit and more than 500 for the Startup Festival.

“The opportunities are immense. The innovation is State-wide, but the potential is global,” the Premier said.

“My Government is supporting 50 regional startup community members to the Summit to bring their ideas, to meet with other innovators and prospective investors,” the Premier said.

The Regional Queensland Startup Ecosystem Report identified more than 80 startups were operating in regional Queensland employing an estimated 450 people working in and building these scalable technology businesses.

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said the Summit provided a unique opportunity for local innovators and entrepreneurs to develop new relationships, business leads and collaborations, to help grow and scale their businesses.

“The Summit will be a flagship event uniting the Queensland startup and entrepreneurial community and a key platform to showcase local innovations, strengthen national and international connections and ignite collaboration,” Enoch said.

“Supporting entrepreneurialism and the development of startups is a key priority for the Advance Queensland initiative and connecting our regions into the summit will play a vital role in growing and diversifying our regional economies.”