New Zealand start-up corporations could soon get a leg-up from an Australian venture capital player that has simply acquired backing from the lately launched Elevate NZ Venture Fund.

The Government-backed $300 million Elevate NZ Venture Fund was mounted in March and has made its first investment, putting $21.5m into Australia’s biggest venture capital fund supervisor Blackbird Ventures.

Blackbird will add the cash to its New Zealand fund, that is trying to boost up to $60m, which will then be used to put money into New Zealand-based start-ups seeking series A and B capital.

Murray Gribben, chairman of New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, which runs the Elevate NZ Venture Fund stated Blackbird had a sturdy track record.

“Blackbird has invested already into several New Zealand start-ups, including Sunfed Meats, AskNicely, FreightFish and AO Air, and has a very strong track record in Australia with investments into the likes of Canva, Culture Amp and Zoox.”

Gribben stated another advantage that Blackbird ought to convey was the cappotential to offer follow-up investment thru different funds, together with a A$500m fund that closed lately.

“This enhances the potential for NZ start-ups to access later stage capital to compete on a global stage.”

“Elevate has up to $300m to allocate, alongside matching private capital, and interest is strong. We hope to announce further investments into more venture capital funds over the coming months.”

“Due to excess demand, we raised the cap on the fund size from $50m to $60m and are delighted to have Elevate as a major backer in our inaugural New Zealand fund.”

Elevate was flagged in Budget 2019, whilst then-Economic Development Minister David Parker stated his Government will deal with a “venture capital gap” through diverting $240m of NZ Super Fund cash to a new $300m fund, which will additionally include $60m from the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund.