Building investment in New Zealand’s future

Monday 12 October

Building investment in New Zealand’s future

This year New Zealand is hosting the Asian Business Angels Forum, combining it with its own Angel Summit to strengthen ties, build alliances and make it possible for our entrepreneurs to have the cash and the connections they need to become New Zealand’s businesses of tomorrow.

On October 14th to October 16th 2015, in the stunning surrounds of Queenstown, alliances will be forged and best practices shared at the combined eighth annual New Zealand Angel Summit and the Asian Business Angels Forum (ABAF).

More than 150 angels, including 50 representatives from about a dozen countries, are expected at the event. All are dedicated to helping young businesses achieve their potential by building the networks they need to thrive in today’s global world and providing the capital they need to compete.

“Having this many investors visit with an appetite for early stage entrepreneurial ventures rather than property, and from such a range of countries is unique, if not a first for New Zealand,” says Marcel van den Assum, chair of the New Zealand Angel Association (AANZ).

“Angels invest their own ‘courageous capital' in high growth startups. They are largely motivated by the desire to ‘give back’ and support their local economies. It’s not a financially rational endeavour because on a deal-by-deal basis angels are more likely to lose their money than not. So it’s a portfolio game where, both personally and from a wider economic benefit perspective, investors plant a lot of small seedlings to grow the giants in the forest.”

That’s why building alliances with other angels nationally and overseas is so important as it opens up a wealth of educational and experiential talent for the investee entrepreneurs and helps spread the risks and diversify angel portfolios, says van den Assum.

Given the tie-up with ABAF, the theme of this year’s Summit is Doing Business Together.

The summit kicks off with a a New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) hosted technology showcase where 15 ventures, most of them angel-backed, will pitch to the gathered national and international angels on the Wednesday evening.

“While it will be terrific if some of the inbound visitors invest in these companies, the real value is in building an international network,” says van den Assum. “Angels are collaborative by nature. And without doubt the New Zealand angel-backed success stories have benefited from relationships built with prominent US angels over a number of years, which we are now extending into Asia.”

Building a global business from New Zealand is challenging, says van den Assum. “It’s a bit like climbing Everest – you need a good team behind you. A connected international network of support is critical to their success and that is what ABAF is all about: connecting Kiwi entrepreneurs and angel investors with angels in other places where we want and need to do business.”

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