e-Commerce - Humanitix | Export Awards

Humanitix

The Rocks (Eora), New South Wales.

Australian Export Awards is ‘amazing validation’

It is amazing validation that Humanitix and our 100% not-for-profit model is not just a pipe dream but a globally recognised success story.

Joshua Ross, Co-Founder and co-CEO.

Humanitix holds the golden ticket to export success

What if a ticketing platform took those annoying booking fees that we all hate paying and gave that money to charity instead?

Say hello to Humanitix, the Aussie-grown organisation and winner of the 2025 e-Commerce award that does just that. Since launching in 2016, the not-for-profit has given away more than $16.5 million – $10 million in the last year alone. What would have been wasted booking fees lining the pockets of shareholders has now provided access to education, healthcare and necessities to millions of people across the globe.

‘We are proud to be an Aussie-based tech-charity that is pioneering the 100%-for-purpose movement, not just nationally but globally,’ says Joshua Ross, Humanitix Co-Founder and co-CEO.

‘We hope to stand as a successful case study and model of a 100%-for-purpose business that was able to disrupt a well-established for-profit market.’

European expansion on the cards

Humanitix officially launched in the UK this year.

It opened a UK headquarters in Edinburgh, after securing a charity licence in Scotland in late 2024. With 4 staff on the ground, sights are set on regional expansion.

‘We are now focusing on growing in the UK market,’ says Ross. ‘Once we have established our presence in the UK, the next target market would be wider Europe.’

Assistance from Austrade

When Humanitix was planning its US launch in early 2020, the organisation received a lot of guidance from Austrade.

‘The Austrade team introduced us to great contacts and valuable networking opportunities. They also ensured we had an office to work from in each new city we visited in the US,’ says Ross.

‘We took part in Austrade’s Landing Pads program in San Francisco in 2021. This allowed us to network with other organisations and learn from their shared resources and insights.’

Strong foundations the ticket to export success

Humanitix’s advice for exporters emerging into new markets?

‘Establish a good foundation in Australia, and test in other smaller markets to see whether the same product, service and strategy will work,’ says Ross.

Humanitix trialled this with its launch across the Tasman in New Zealand, prior to its major launches in the US and the UK.

‘Each market will have slight differences. You will learn a lot in the process of establishing yourself in an export market, and this experience will help with your launch in bigger markets,’ says Ross.

We hope that being recognised as the winner of the 2025 e-Commerce award category at the Australian Export Awards will launch us into other markets and help build recognition and trust of Humanitix as a brand that is doing good for events, the community and the world.

Making Humanitix a household name

Expansion into new markets does come with its challenges, says Ross.

‘Brand recognition in a big market like the US, where there are a lot more competitors, is challenging. It’s a longer road to get to the scale of starting to become a household name.’

Humanitix is tackling this by doubling down on its efforts in the US and investing its resources into scaling its sales team.

Equal access to events for all

Humanitix is also focused on improving accessibility for its events.

‘People with disabilities deserve equal access to events and work in events. To date the ticketing platforms have not been incentivised to make their products and events accessible for those with specific requirements,’ says Ross.

Humanitix has built first-of-its-kind accessibility inclusion tools into both its ticketing platform and its administrative backend. The tools cover a range of challenges, from sign language interpretation to screen readers and wheelchair accessibility.

Australian Export Awards is ‘amazing validation’

This is Humanitix’s third recognition in the Australian Export Awards in as many years. It won the Creative Industries award category in 2023 and was recognised as an e-Commerce national finalist in 2024.

‘It is amazing validation that Humanitix and our 100% not-for-profit model is not just a pipe dream but a globally recognised success story,’ says Ross.

‘We hope that being recognised as the winner of the 2025 e-Commerce award category will launch us into other markets and help build recognition and trust of Humanitix as a brand that is doing good for events, the community and the world.’

Visit Humanitix website.