A PARTNERSHIP between the State Government, Griffith University and Gold Coast City Council has secured a new $1 million facility for high-tech businesses on the Coast.

A $500,000 State Government grant will enable a 'Gold Coast Incubator' to be established at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus. It will provide a supportive business environment for young, high-tech companies and increase their chances of long-term survival, with figures showing 90 per cent of incubated companies succeed.

Incubators provide start-up companies with access to industry experts across a range of business management areas including finance, capital raising, leadership, intellectual property and commercialisation of products.

The new facility will mean emerging high-tech companies on the Coast can grow and develop as part of a supportive network. They will eventually graduate into the broader business community, creating jobs and adding to the Coast's reputation as a fast-growing, innovative business destination.

The Technology Incubator will work closely with the Gold Coast State Development Centre, which provides support to early-stage business ventures to commercialise new products and processes and prepare for investment. It also provides access to the private sector.

The Gold Coast Incubator is expected to house companies from a range of high-tech sectors including ICT, multi-media, aqua-culture, pharmaceutical and health technology. It will be housed within an existing building on Griffith Gold Coast campus.

The university and council will provide funding and additional in-kind support.

The facility will be modelled on the successful i.lab Incubator, at Toowong, in Brisbane, which was the hub of a Statewide Technology Incubator Program.

i.lab has been home to more than 50 start-up technology companies and a place of support for hundreds of others since its establishment in 2000.

Between them, these companies have created nearly 300 jobs and have raised more than $16 million in capital in the past year alone.

Funding will be made available over a four-year period and would enable the Gold Coast Incubator to grow during a similar time-frame.

The Gold Coast Incubator will provide assistance to residential and virtual tenants, offering emerging companies flexibility in their choice of location.

Four start-up companies (two residential and two virtual) will be assisted in the first year of operation. In the second year, the number of companies will jump to six (three residential and three virtual) and in the third year, seven companies (three residential and four virtual) are expected to be assisted.