This week, Meshpoints unveiled its next phase at their first Town Hall of the year, delivered as part of Morning Startup and attended by over 100 founders, ecosystem builders and partners from across Western Australia.
The session marked a milestone moment for the statewide initiative, with Lotterywest continuing to back innovation in WA through Meshpoints and the team outlining how the program will evolve to support a stronger, more connected innovation ecosystem in the years ahead.
During the event, Charlie Gunningham, Head of Ecosystem Engagement at Meshpoints, reflected on what has been achieved since 2022 and introduced a new Challenge-led approach to funding, designed to bring organisations together around shared ecosystem priorities rather than supporting isolated projects.
“We’re focusing our efforts on the problems that matter most for the whole ecosystem, and inviting collaborative, practical solutions that can shift the system at scale,” Charlie shared.
Following the Town Hall, attendees joined an optional workshop exploring the first Challenge in detail, on Promotion & Storytelling. The session unpacked why this theme was selected, the types of initiatives Meshpoints is seeking to support, and how not-for-profit organisations can begin shaping strong proposals.
What is a Meshpoints Challenge
Challenges are focused, time-limited funding rounds shaped by ecosystem research, impact evaluation and sector insights, including ongoing collaboration with StartupWA through roundtables and community conversations.
Each Challenge targets a clearly defined opportunity for system-wide improvement, with funding designed to catalyse coordinated action across multiple organisations. Learn more about the new Challenge model and how it works here.
Promotion & Storytelling Challenge
The inaugural Challenge of this new phase asks, ‘How can we better showcase Western Australia’s innovation ecosystem so it’s recognised as a place where ideas and entrepreneurs thrive?’
"Telling the stories of our local innovation and innovators is becoming a priority for our ecosystem. Often our wonderful startup stories are submerged by the other, larger sectors in WA,” Charlie shared.
"This is important as hearing other success stories inspires existing startups and teams to keep going, influences investors to look at the sector, and demonstrates to younger people at school and universities that you CAN succeed in your own entrepreneurial venture here in WA."
This Challenge has been shaped through Meshpoints’ evidence-led approach to ecosystem development. Insights from StartupWA roundtables inform public reports, which are shared at Meshpoints Town Halls and translated into Challenge themes. Applications then open for ecosystem-led initiatives, successful programs are funded and delivered, and their impact is evaluated, feeding directly into the next cycle of research, engagement and Challenge design.
Meshpoints is now inviting ecosystem-led initiatives that elevate WA’s stories locally, nationally and internationally, from creative campaigns and storytelling platforms to high-profile showcases and visiting delegations. Explore the Promotion & Storytelling Challenge here.
Why this next phase matters
Since launching in 2022, Meshpoints has worked alongside partners across the state to strengthen connection, collaboration and access to opportunity across WA’s innovation ecosystem.
Between 2022 and 2025, Meshpoints supported 86 initiatives through $2.6 million in devolved grant funding, directly impacting 14,172 Western Australians, with more than half of all initiatives involving regional participation or delivering outcomes in the regions.
Independent evaluation conducted with Huber Social shows strong progress, with 82% of partners reporting a more connected ecosystem and 76% noting increased cross-sector collaboration. At the same time, the data continues to point to critical challenges around visibility, capital access and founder retention, reinforcing why this new Challenge-led phase is so important (read more about Meshpoints’ impact to date).