# Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP)

> A University of Melbourne entrepreneurship program supporting early-stage, scalable ventures through an equity-free accelerator, mentoring, workspace and an alumni community, with pathways for university-affiliated, social-impact and climate founders.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** Melbourne, Australia
- **Founders:** Thas Nirmalathas (Co-founder; academic leadership), Charles Day (Co-founder), Amir Nissen (Co-founder; program launch)
- **Products:** MAP Accelerator, MEC Discover (formerly MAP Velocity), Community and mentoring
- **Notable:** Launched in 2012 as Australia’s first university-aligned accelerator, according to the University of Melbourne., The 2023 Enterprising Melbourne review reports 481 MAP founders and 285 startup teams supported, with A$400 million in venture capital investment., Three 2025 accelerator teams had previously participated in Velocity.

## Products & services

- **MAP Accelerator** — Selective in-person accelerator offering A$20,000 equity-free funding, coaching, workspace and mentor access; 2026 listing adds Claude team accounts.
- **MEC Discover (formerly MAP Velocity)** — Eight-week early-stage pre-accelerator with evening workshops, market validation and founder community; A$500 per founder, with some scholarship places.
- **Community and mentoring** — Alumni connections, founder support, workshops and public entrepreneurship events.

## Achievements

- Launched in 2012 as Australia’s first university-aligned accelerator, according to the University of Melbourne.
- The 2023 Enterprising Melbourne review reports 481 MAP founders and 285 startup teams supported, with A$400 million in venture capital investment.
- Three 2025 accelerator teams had previously participated in Velocity.
- 2023 accelerator alum ClimaSens received the US$200,000 Twilio.org Climate Tech Prize, announced by MAP in January 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Research snapshot: current website calls Velocity MEC Discover and lists an eight-week, A$500-per-founder offering. Snapshot date is not an announcement date.
- **2026-10** — Research snapshot: accelerator page advertises 2026 applications and a 28 July-24 October schedule, alongside A$20,000 equity-free funding and Claude team accounts.
- **2025-05** — MAP announced 41 founders in its Velocity pre-accelerator cohort.
- **2025-03** — MAP announced its 11-team accelerator cohort; LaunchVic announced support for program delivery.
- **2025-01** — MAP reported ClimaSens’s US$200,000 climate-tech prize.

## Links

- Website: https://www.themap.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/melbourne-accelerator-program
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MAPUniMelb
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MAPUniMelb/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MAPUniMelb/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/melbourne-accelerator-program-map
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-08