Austrade and CoMantis: Mentoring Australian Tech Scale-ups for UK Expansion
Annika Barton
Trade and Investment Commissioner, London
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
Austrade has long supported Australian businesses going global. What was the motivation behind your program “Landing Pads”?
At the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), our mission is to help Australian businesses succeed internationally. We see significant momentum from Australian technology companies seeking to expand globally – including into the UK. While working to support them, we recognised that there were additional avenues to support technology scale-ups. Austrade’s Landing Pads program in London is designed to help export-ready Australian tech businesses to expand to the UK. The program includes a focus on mentoring, providing founders with tailored guidance to sharpen their strategy before diving into active business development.
Austrade’s Landing Pad program is an important part of our international support framework. It provides scale-ups with a soft-landing into key global hubs, offering comprehensive modules on sales and marketing, hands-on mentoring on successful market penetration and expansion, introductions to potential customers and partners, and access to an expert network aligned to key market entry challenges.
Why do you think individual mentoring is an important component of the program?
Mentoring is more introspective and preparatory. It allows companies to step back, refine their value proposition, and align their sales and fundraising strategies with market expectations. We wanted to give participants the tools and confidence to make the most of future introductions – before we make them! In many ways, providing the mentoring support to Australian companies helps to ensure – at an individualised level - that future business development efforts are more productive.
What was the structure of the Landing Pad program?
The program was designed to be concise but impactful. Each company received two one-hour mentoring sessions, tailored to their specific market challenges, after a kick-off session that explained the program structure. In addition to these one-to-one sessions with CoMantis, companies also participated in several group sessions delivered by different industry experts, along with self-paced training modules on the UK market and sales paradigms. This combination ensured that founders could access both broad market knowledge and personalised guidance, helping them build a stronger foundation for their UK expansion strategy. This level of structure and transparency had a clear and lasting impact on the companies who were part of the London Landing Pad program in July-September 2025. At the conclusion of the program, Austrade received a final report from CoMantis summarising company-specific outcomes as well as cohort-wide insights, which will allow us to better provide ongoing support to the companies.
Can you tell us more about the participating companies? What industries did they represent, and what challenges did they bring?
The cohort was diverse: SaaS providers, AI-driven platforms, Health-tech innovators, and Green-tech scale-ups. Despite their differences, many faced similar hurdles. They needed to adapt their sales messaging and marketing presence for the UK, present strong investor narratives, and understand how to navigate the regulatory and cultural nuances of the UK market. Some companies had strong technical offerings but were working on articulating business outcomes. Others had good traction in Australia but were focussed on translating that success into the expectations of a UK audience.
How did Austrade evaluate CoMantis as a partner for mentoring?
We chose CoMantis because of their adaptability and track record. Having worked with the company on previous similar programs, we knew they understood the UK ecosystem and could deliver tangible results. What impressed us with their mentoring program was the ability to balance strategic advice with very practical, hands-on guidance, whether that was improving pitch decks, refining LinkedIn strategies, or offering direct feedback on go-to-market priorities. That combination was exactly what our companies needed.
What was the reaction from the companies to the mentoring aspect of the program?
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Many participants appreciated the opportunity to receive candid, personalised feedback that they could immediately act upon. Several mentioned that the mentoring gave them clarity they hadn’t had before, for example, in terms of refining their sales story and understanding how to pitch to UK decision-makers. The fact that sessions were recorded also meant companies could revisit the advice afterwards, which added long-term value.
From Austrade’s point of view, what does success look like in a program like this?
Success is measured in improved readiness and confidence, and ultimately in new sales in the UK. Did the companies leave with a clearer understanding of the UK market? Are their pitches sharper? Do they now have a roadmap of priorities for their next steps? Did the program provide them with learnings that saved them time and money? Based on participant feedback, the answer is yes. Several companies also began progressing conversations with potential UK partners or investors shortly after the program. For us, that is proof that the mentoring had an immediate, practical impact.
Looking forward, how does this program fit into Austrade’s broader mission of supporting Australian innovation globally?
This program showed us the importance of flexible support models. Sometimes, companies need introductions and market access. Other times, they need reflection and mentoring to prepare for those opportunities. By working with partners like CoMantis, who can adapt from business development to structured mentoring, we can offer both. Going forward, we’ll continue to build programs that meet companies where they are, whether that’s refining their strategy, preparing to pitch, or scaling in-market. For Australian scale-ups, this combination of mentoring and business development will be crucial to long-term international success.
We are launching our Landing Pad London program on 4 November 2025, and we are looking forward to working with the next ambitious cohort of Aussie tech scale-ups.
Thank you for the kind words, Annika!
The Service
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission chose Sales Advisory and Mentoring provided by CoMantis Ltd.