Finistere Ventures, a pioneering investor in agrifood technology companies, recently announced the launch of the NZ$40 million (US$28.3 million) Finistere Aotearoa Fund in partnership with New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP).
Drawing on Finistere's experience investing in VC-ready opportunities in agriculture, food and sustainability, the new fund will focus on commercialising New Zealand's robust technology and intellectual property pipeline to support the growing global demand for solutions addressing sustainability and nutrition needs.
'New Zealand has become a world leader in agricultural research and innovation focused on curtailing the environmental impact of agriculture, fueled in part by the government's continued investment in and passion for environmental and agricultural efforts. Investing over $250M annually through its public sector institutions, cementing its commitment to a zero-emissions national agriculture strategy and continuing its close partnership with its ag and food ecosystem, New Zealand is a center for agricultural excellence,' says Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures. 'Having a strong local presence in Aotearoa has long been on our agenda. We are excited to partner with NZGCP to support the global commercialisation of NZ's most promising agrifood technology advancements.'
'We are committed to building a vibrant investment ecosystem in New Zealand to support our burgeoning technology innovation cluster focused on advances in agriculture, food and sustainability. With deep roots in New Zealand, an impressive investment track record and strong partnerships around the globe, Finistere brings the domain expertise, international network, industry relationships and smart capital needed to help New Zealand startups become major players in the booming agrifood sector,' adds James Pinner, investment director for NZGCP's NZ$300 million Elevate fund.
Finistere's new fund operations will be based in Palmerston North at The Factory, a leading R&D and company incubation cluster that has a longstanding relationship with Finistere. The Factory has been central to Finistere's investments in New Zealand-grown companies such as BioLumic and ZeaKal, as well as its most recent investment in Sprout alongside partners Fonterra and OurCrowd.
'In the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan that was launched last year, we highlighted that investment was a key constraint for the sector, so we welcome the creation of this specialist fund and look forward to its productive contribution to New Zealand's transformation,' states The Hon. Stuart Nash, Minister for Economic and Regional Development for New Zealand.
'This new fund underpins our commitment to the local ecosystem. In the year ahead, our goal is to anchor more investment from our global network of partners like Rabobank, RIV Capital Inc. and Yamaha to support New Zealand's best startups alongside us – similar to what we've accomplished in Ireland, Israel and North America,' adds Mr Kukutai.
Dean Tilyard, founder and director of Sprout, will now serve as Finistere's New Zealand Venture Partner and lead the new fund. Mr Tilyard noted, 'While more than $46 billion has been invested in agrifood tech over the last decade – a trend likely to increase with the growing focus on sustainability – New Zealand hasn't had the connected capital players necessary to help our companies take full advantage of this trend. The Finistere NZGCP partnership will make a big difference by being able to lead diligence and financing of local opportunities. Our innovation cluster here is as good as anything in the Netherlands or Israel, but has been less well known. That is changing.'
The fund will focus on supporting high-potential technologies with a concentration on advanced crop protection technologies, nutrient management, alternative proteins, food delivery, and supply chain advances to promote a healthier, more sustainable food and ag ecosystem.
For more information visit the Finistere Ventures website, HERE.
Drawing on Finistere's experience investing in VC-ready opportunities in agriculture, food and sustainability, the new fund will focus on commercialising New Zealand's robust technology and intellectual property pipeline to support the growing global demand for solutions addressing sustainability and nutrition needs.
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| Image credit: Pedro Szekely on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) |
'New Zealand has become a world leader in agricultural research and innovation focused on curtailing the environmental impact of agriculture, fueled in part by the government's continued investment in and passion for environmental and agricultural efforts. Investing over $250M annually through its public sector institutions, cementing its commitment to a zero-emissions national agriculture strategy and continuing its close partnership with its ag and food ecosystem, New Zealand is a center for agricultural excellence,' says Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures. 'Having a strong local presence in Aotearoa has long been on our agenda. We are excited to partner with NZGCP to support the global commercialisation of NZ's most promising agrifood technology advancements.'
'We are committed to building a vibrant investment ecosystem in New Zealand to support our burgeoning technology innovation cluster focused on advances in agriculture, food and sustainability. With deep roots in New Zealand, an impressive investment track record and strong partnerships around the globe, Finistere brings the domain expertise, international network, industry relationships and smart capital needed to help New Zealand startups become major players in the booming agrifood sector,' adds James Pinner, investment director for NZGCP's NZ$300 million Elevate fund.
Finistere's new fund operations will be based in Palmerston North at The Factory, a leading R&D and company incubation cluster that has a longstanding relationship with Finistere. The Factory has been central to Finistere's investments in New Zealand-grown companies such as BioLumic and ZeaKal, as well as its most recent investment in Sprout alongside partners Fonterra and OurCrowd.
'In the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan that was launched last year, we highlighted that investment was a key constraint for the sector, so we welcome the creation of this specialist fund and look forward to its productive contribution to New Zealand's transformation,' states The Hon. Stuart Nash, Minister for Economic and Regional Development for New Zealand.
'This new fund underpins our commitment to the local ecosystem. In the year ahead, our goal is to anchor more investment from our global network of partners like Rabobank, RIV Capital Inc. and Yamaha to support New Zealand's best startups alongside us – similar to what we've accomplished in Ireland, Israel and North America,' adds Mr Kukutai.
Dean Tilyard, founder and director of Sprout, will now serve as Finistere's New Zealand Venture Partner and lead the new fund. Mr Tilyard noted, 'While more than $46 billion has been invested in agrifood tech over the last decade – a trend likely to increase with the growing focus on sustainability – New Zealand hasn't had the connected capital players necessary to help our companies take full advantage of this trend. The Finistere NZGCP partnership will make a big difference by being able to lead diligence and financing of local opportunities. Our innovation cluster here is as good as anything in the Netherlands or Israel, but has been less well known. That is changing.'
The fund will focus on supporting high-potential technologies with a concentration on advanced crop protection technologies, nutrient management, alternative proteins, food delivery, and supply chain advances to promote a healthier, more sustainable food and ag ecosystem.
For more information visit the Finistere Ventures website, HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
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