New Zealand Leads The Way In Investment Gender Data

For the first time, New Zealand has a comprehensive view of who receives investment capital, thanks to the voluntary contribution of data from 14 investment funds representing an impressive 70% of the venture capital industry.

This landmark dataset from The Gender Investment Gap NZ (run by Jenny Rudd and Dame Theresa Gattung) has revealed vital insights into the gender distribution of investments in 2023:

• 7% of deals went to women-only founder teams
• 19% to mixed-gender founder teams
• 74% to men-only founder teams.

“As shocking as these figures are, I am hugely optimistic about the future of investing in women-led startups in Aotearoa,” said Jenny Rudd.

“Having this data is a game-changer. The New Zealand venture capital industry is leading the world by providing access to information that will help us build a more inclusive and equitable investment landscape. I work with groups in USA, Australia and the UK who are using New Zealand’s transparency as an example to their own industries that it can be done.

“The split of our deals by gender is in line with USA, UK and Europe. Interestingly though, when sharing this data with our sponsors and VC funds, they were appalled. They’d just assumed we were doing better than everyone else.”

Rudd highlighted the importance of these insights as investors increasingly recognise the outperformance potential of women-led ventures.

“New Zealand’s commitment to collecting this data is a significant step forward: we can’t change what we don’t measure. Greater transparency means investors can make data-informed decisions and unlock opportunities for economic growth in New Zealand that female entrepreneurs can deliver—estimated at $32 billion.”

Rudd extended her gratitude to the participating funds noting that their voluntary contributions will help the overall understanding of the gender dynamics of venture capital in New Zealand.

And while the figures underscore a glaring gender imbalance, they also signal a turning point.

“Before now, New Zealand lacked a complete dataset, leaving the issue obscured,” Rudd explained. “Now, with a baseline established, we can work together to close the gap, and benefit from the returns that come from investing in overlooked founders.”

The initiative has drawn praise from international organisations working to close the gender investment gap including Allison Byers, USA founder and CEO of Scroobious, and co-author of Californian bill SB54.

"With around 70% of funds openly sharing gender data, New Zealand’s venture capital firms are setting a powerful example that transparency isn’t just achievable – it’s essential for real progress. This collaborative effort is particularly timely as California implements SB54, a law signed last year that mandates diversity reporting by venture funds. We’re hopeful that other regions will follow New Zealand’s lead, embracing transparency to foster a more inclusive and prosperous investment landscape,” said Byers.

The participating VC funds are:

• Icehouse Ventures
• NZ Growth Capital Partners
• K1W1
• Blackbird
• Nuance
• WNT Ventures
• Motion Capital
• Punakaiki Fund
• Flying Kiwi Angels
• Even Capital
• Maker Capital
• Soul Capital
• Enterprise Angels
• NZVC

About Gender Investment gap

Jenny Rudd and Dame Theresa Gattung have a mission to close the gender investment gap. In New Zealand, startups founded by women-only teams are shut out of all but 7 in every 100 investment opportunities. Most of those 7 opportunities go to white women.

Nearly all investment capital in early-stage startups goes to a narrow group of founders who all look the same, come from the same schools and universities, and are taught the same way of solving problems.

Through the Gender Investment Gap, Rudd and Gattung hope to measure investment data in New Zealand; work with US, Australia, UK and other countries closing the gap; and eventually close the gap so that the distribution of venture capital in New Zealand loosely mirrors the demographics of our population.

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