Innovators in the spotlight at UNSW’s Pitch Night South West

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare joined the judging panel as entrepreneurs pitched innovations in health care, education, retail and security.

South West Sydney's next generation of founders took centre stage at Pitch Night South West, with eight entrepreneurs pitching ideas to improve lives and solve everyday problems to a panel of government, industry and investment leaders.

The unique community event, hosted by UNSW Founders at Bryan Brown Theatre in Bankstown, demonstrated how South West Sydney is becoming a hub for entrepreneurial talent. A total of $40,000 in prize funding was on offer to help founders accelerate the growth of their startups.   

Finalists presented innovations ranging from AI-powered tools to protect academic integrity and a virtual mental health clinic to smart drinking water technology, pharmacy automation, dementia support, retail innovation and real-time safety intelligence.

UNSW Sydney Vice-President, Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement, Professor Verity Firth AM, said Pitch Night South West continued to showcase the strength of innovation emerging from the region.

“Pitch Night South West is an inspiring initiative that creates opportunities for emerging founders to transform their ideas into meaningful ventures,” Prof. Firth said.

“As Australia's most entrepreneurial university, UNSW is proud to build the pathways for bold ideas to grow into successful businesses with real community impact.”

Founders recognised for innovation

Participants received expert assistance before the event to help transform their ideas into compelling pitches, demonstrating the community benefits and commercial potential of their ventures.

The judging panel included federal Education Minister Jason Clare, UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research & Enterprise, Professor Bronwyn Fox, Flying Fox Ventures Co-founder and Investor Kylie Frazer and Westpac Managing Director of Business Lending Tamara Bryden.

Minister Clare said: “What’s happening here fills me with a real sense of excitement because I know that talent is everywhere, it’s opportunity that’s not, and it’s education that can change that.

“It’s not a building that can make an idea come to life, it’s the mentor. The person that can help turn an idea into reality or a colleague that can help introduce you to somebody else who can make it happen, an investor who might be willing to take a chance, a customer who wants to try something new, a room full of people with connections.

“We don’t want local talent to have to leave Western Sydney to make it big.”

The top prizes were awarded to:

• 1st Prize: Optara Systems – Turning CCTV into real-time safety and operational intelligence, founded by Zainab Mohammadi.
• 2nd Prize: Wren – AI to enhance learning and assessments, founded by Syam Iyer.
• Westpac Female Founders Award: NPathy – A nurse-led virtual mental health clinic, founded by Amanda Butt.
• People’s Choice Award: Memory Aid – A tool empowering people with dementia to stay connected, founded by Celia Harris.

Boosting opportunities in Greater Western Sydney

Now in its third year, Pitch Night South West forms part of the UNSW Founders program, which supports aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, education, industry connections and opportunities to accelerate their ventures. This year, the program attracted more than 150 applicants.

Manager of the Greater Western Sydney Entrepreneurship Program at UNSW Founders, Julie Pham, said the initiative helped more aspiring entrepreneurs scale successful businesses.  

“These founders are worth paying attention to because their ideas are grounded in real life experience,” she said.

“They're building solutions to problems they understand and care deeply about. If these founders receive the right support, their ideas become real ventures, solving meaningful problems and showing people what's possible in Western Sydney.”

NSW Minister for Youth Justice, Emergency Services, Customer Service and Digital Government, Jihad Dib, also attended the event, as did City of Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek.

Pitch Night South West was delivered with support from the NSW Government, Investment NSW, Westpac, Justice Inclusion Access (JEINA), MTC FutureReady and City of Canterbury Bankstown.