Melbourne’s maturing startup scene is home to more than 2,100 startups, nearly 500 investors, and close to 50 accelerators including , and continues to grow. According to Dealroom, year-over-year startup job growth reached 10.75% between 2018 and 2020, translating to more than 5,900 jobs created. Total VC investments in Melbourne surged to a record of over US$1 billion in 2019-2020. Local leaders are committed to continue supporting the city’s startup scene. The State’s $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund will drive investment in translational research, innovation and commercialisation outcomes to accelerate growth in key industry sectors and create jobs. Victoria's startup agency, LaunchVic, received record funding of $110.5 million in the government’s 2020-2021 budget to continue its work to drive the long-term success of Victoria’s startup ecosystem. Of this, $60.5 million was allocated to the Victorian Startup Capital Fund - a Fund of Funds designed to catalyse investment in early-stage startups, and $10 million was earmarked for the Women’s Angel Sidecar Fund to support female founders. Private funding will provide significant supplemental support to all these programs. In addition to this the city also offers small business grants to support innovative, market-ready products. The University of Melbourne’s MAP Accelerator Program and the Wade Institute’s VC Catalyst program support startups making a positive impact on the world. With 60,000 people in its network, Startup Victoria based in Melbourne is the largest grassroots startup community for founders in Australia and aims to create more and better founders.