NZX backs NZ’s growing angel movement

3 September, 2014

NZX backs NZ’s growing angel movement

NZX, the operator of New Zealand’s stock exchange, has thrown its support in behind New Zealand’s growing angel movement, by sponsoring the Angel Association of New Zealand (AANZ).

Angels are businesspeople who invest their money and often their time in early-stage and startup companies in order to help them grow and become the next generation of employers and innovators.

This partnership between AANZ and NZX is an important one as it not only provides extra resource to help New Zealand angels develop their skills and networks on a national basis, it also strengthens ties for companies-backed by angel investors with the more formal capital markets, says Marcel van den Assum, an angel investor and chairman of the AANZ.

“We’re delighted to announce this sponsorship. Angel HQ, the angel network I’ve been associated with since its inception, launched at NZX six years ago with the aspiration that ventures funded at this level would become opportunities for a wider network of investors to support through NZX. There is much angel-backed companies can learn from the people at NZX and from New Zealand’s many listed companies, their directors and their shareholders, many of whom are also angel investors. We look forward to strengthening our relationship still further over the coming years and providing a pipeline of companies for the new NXT market that NZX will soon launch.”

Aaron Jenkins, NZX’s Head of Markets says NZX’s decision to support the Angel Association was a logical one. “We have mutual and complementary goals. We both want to encourage young New Zealand businesses to ‘take on the world’ for the economic benefit of all New Zealanders. The Angel Association is a key part of the critical breeding ground for New Zealand businesses as well as a representative body of educated investors. These are both important components of our capital markets and particularly NZX’s soon to launch NXT market.

“Ideally, once they’ve proven their abilities, we’d like to see a greater proportion of these growing businesses coming to our public markets to raise the capital they need to fuel the next stages of their growth. NZX also has a focus on improving investor literacy among everyday New Zealanders to encourage more people to take an interest in New Zealand’s capital markets and the businesses that rely on those markets.”

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