Facilitating international engagement opportunities for Australian SMEs
We know there can be enormous flow-on benefits from assisting Australian companies access international markets. However, despite Australia being a significant player in the global oil and gas industry, for SMEs and innovators in the national energy supply chain, finding a voice on the world stage is extremely difficult, with opportunities into global markets scarce.
This is why NERA is helping to address this issue by opening doors, making introductions and providing local entrepreneurs and innovative companies with the tools they need to turbo-charge their international growth prospects.
Through our international exchange programs, we are helping forge valuable international market pathways between global energy ecosystems to accelerate international growth and create opportunities for Australian energy technology innovators and start-ups.
“Encouraging and promoting Australia’s best small businesses and entrepreneurs will bring significant benefits for the nation. For every single job created in Australia’s oil and gas industry, 10 more are supported across the economy. So when energy grows, Australia thrives.”
— Miranda Taylor, NERA CEO
ABERDEEN 2019
HOUSTON 2019
BARCELONA 2018
PERTH 2020
Scroll through the below to discover how our international engagement programs are facilitating access to international markets — including field trials, customer validation and analysis, and increasing exposure to early stage investment markets — which is critical for fast-growing high-potential businesses.
Joining NERA and their counterparts, the Australian innovators participated in a curated program specifically designed to build international relationships and forge valuable supply chain connections. The four Australian representatives joined technology innovators from across the globe at the brand-new OE Start-up Village, powered by TechX, where they battled their way through the ‘Pitch Pit’ to showcase their technologies.
As well as attending SPE Offshore Europe, the Tech Xchange program included a tour of the North East’s start-up ecosystem, stopping at the OGTC, Elevator and ONE Codebase, and attending meetings with industry experts and influencers such as TechX Pioneers, investors, operators and service companies.
Meet the innovators
“The ability to network, display our technology and get exposure was a chance in a lifetime. The tour has been a fantastic opportunity for us.”
The Australian startups joined their UK counterparts RAB Microfluidics and TenzorGeo to engage in a custom program developed by Station Houston to complement the OTC experience, including workshops, networking events and meetings with leaders from industry, academia, government and global energy technology ecosystems.
Meet the innovators
“Many supermajors have global headquarters in Houston, or at a minimum a substantial presence. The people we met were very open to discussing our product and also making introductions to others within their own business networks. The RICE Startup Roundup Office Hours was by far the highlight for us.
Further to this was the schedule of meetings organised by NERA, Unearthed and Station Houston. The camaraderie and support of the full cohort made the tour so much more enjoyable.”
— Steven Cocks, Cumulus Projects Founder
Gastech 2018
In 2018, NERA led the Smart Australia: Take Local Global Program at Gastech 2018 in Barcelona, Spain, selecting ten SMEs who represent a diverse spectrum of innovative services and products to take part in Smart Australia.
The tailored industry program was designed to ‘take local global’ and showcase Australia’s capability across the oil and gas supply chain. It delivered a customised workshop and bespoke mentoring experience that enabled participants to identify in-market opportunities, scope relevant commercial and financial strategies and equip participants with the skills, language and tools required to translate these into tangible commercial outcomes.
As part of Australia's first-ever country pavilion at Gastech, NERA brought the country's top energy and gas technology innovators together to deliver a strong showcase of local innovation, talent and future capability to the world stage, showing the benefits of collaboration across the supply chain. The Australian pavilion — Australia's first-ever country pavilion at Gastech — helped provide a launch pad for the 'Team Australia' delegation, which featured the 10 participating Smart Australia SMEs and other organisations from across Australia’s energy resources sector, to connect with the global supply chain.
The companies participated in NERA's SME ConnectER Program, which ran from 11 to 12 March and provided a curated selection of more than 30 SMEs with an exhibitor pod for one day at the conference, as well as the opportunity to pitch their solutions in 60 seconds or less to the wider AOG audience twice daily.
Participating companies were provided with a workshop and coaching to refine their value proposition and pitching skills, and ideas on how to make the most of their time and investment at a large conference.
The SME pitch sessions gave innovators a genuine opportunity to share their products and services to AOG stakeholders and continue conversations about their technology at their exhibitor pods.
Below is a full list of the 2020 SME ConnectER participants.
