Aon is pursuing new opportunities with the start-up community through a three-year partnership with the York Butter Factory innovation hub in Melbourne.

About 50 start-ups are based at the hub, which aims to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs, corporates and academic institutions, and to foster collaboration.

“This partnership will allow us and our clients to tap into a network of entrepreneurs and corporates as we move into the new era defined by fintech,” Aon Risk Solutions Australia CEO Lambros Lambrou said.

Other York Butter Factory corporate partners include ANZ, Qantas, IBM, Ernst & Young, marketing group Dentsu Aegis Network and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

“Aon joins a distinguished cohort of ASX 200 and Fortune 1000 companies working together with [the hub] to support Australia’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to realise their potential in global markets,” York Butter Factory co-founder Stuart Richardson said.

“The partnership with Aon provides Australian start-ups with the opportunity to explore and experiment with new business models with the creation, integration and distribution of new risk products.”

York Butter Factory, named after the business formerly located at its heritage-listed bluestone building in central Melbourne, focuses on business-to-business start-ups in fintech, Big Data and analytics, software as a service, new media and health tech.

“No matter what stage a start-up is in, they will face challenges, just like any other business,” Mr Lambrou said. “We recognise there is a role we can play as trusted advisers in helping these businesses manage risk they have come across or will come across in their life cycle.”

Aon says a recent study from PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that by 2033 technology start-ups will contribute 4% of Australia’s GDP and have created more than 500,000 jobs.