Govt and angel fund team up for tech sector 

Source: ONE NewsTen dollar note

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A new investment partnership is looking to invest up to $8 million developing technology ventures emerging from life sciences, engineering and information and communication technology research.

The partnership is between government-supported fund manager New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) and angel investment network AngelLink.

AngelLink brings together early stage investors. It was initiated by University of Waikato commercial arm WaikatoLink.

WaikatoLink chief executive Mark Stuart said it would work closely with Unicom, which link  ed Waikato with Lincoln University, AUT, and Canterbury University at the pre-seed investment stage.

"There are some very promising technologies emerging from the universities and Crown research agencies which could have considerable commercial potential," he said.

NZVIF chief executive Franceska Banga said NZVIF was committing up to $4 million to the partnership.

"With this partnership, we hope to see greater investment in new innovations which have the potential to advance to the commercial stage in global markets," she said.

The partnership was the 10th NZVIF had entered through its seed co-investment fund, through which NZVIF was investing $40 million into early stage companies with strong potential for high growth, alongside investments made by its partners.

Through the seed fund partnerships, NZVIF and angel groups had co-invested more than $33 million into 30 companies.

To see Corin Dann's interview with Mark Stuart from AngelLink, click on the WATCH tab.