The Co-Fund mechanism between New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) and the Taiwan’s National Development Fund (NDF) was established in 2012. The first co-fund under this mechanism was formed in 2014 with the scale of US$100 million. Recently, NDF and NZVIF has committed to a new joint New Zealand-Taiwan venture capital fund – the Global from Day One (GD1) Fund II.
The partnership between NZVIF and NDF opens access to new networks and markets for fund managers and the high growth companies they invest in. The cross-border technology-focused fund has raised over NZ$30 million and is targeting a final close of up to NZ$45 million with the majority of capital to be invested into New Zealand start-ups with a focus on offshore markets. A portion of the fund will be applied to startups aiming to use Taiwan as a springboard to achieve growth in Asia.
GD1 Fund II has been established by investors from Sparkbox Ventures–the experienced Auckland-based early stage and Pinehurst Advisors–a Taipei-based early investment fund. GD1 Fund II’s managers have invested in well over 100 early stage companies, including successful New Zealand companies like Xero, Booktrack, MishGuru and GreenButton.
GD1’s Chintaka Ranatunga will manage the fund’s investments alongside Mark Hsu and Kevin Chen, targeting young companies developing software, internet, and smart devices or ‘lean hardware’. The fund is expected to invest in around 20 companies in New Zealand and Taiwan.
