NSW start-ups to learn from Israeli counterparts

Ten NSW FinTech and cybersecurity start-ups will visit Israel next month for a 10-day program aimed at learning from and fostering relationships with leading Israeli start-ups.

The 10 companies have been selected to take part in the Austrade Landing Pad in Tel Aviv through a competitive application process.

Austrade and the NSW government are sponsoring the delegation, which is aimed at strengthening links between NSW and Israeli start-ups.

The 10-day program will involve meetings with mentors to address business or technical challenges, meetings with successful Israeli FinTech start-ups and attendance at the DLD Festival, the world’s biggest start-up sector event.

“NSW has some incredible start-up talent, particularly in the FinTech and cybersecurity sectors, and this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase that talent on a global stage. The opportunity for the state’s best start-ups to visit Tel Aviv and learn from some of the world’s top innovators is absolutely the chance of a lifetime,” NSW Minister for Innovation Matt Kean said.

The 10 companies in the delegation are DSYNC, Goodments, Ping Data, Currencyvue, First Rung, Upload Once, FARMpay, Ditno, Audeamus Risk and Spriggy.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s economic development ministry has announced plans to refocus the government’s Seed Co-investment Fund to help better meet the needs of start-up companies.

The NZ$50 million fund involves partnering with angel investors to provide early-stage capital to young start-ups.

Changes include raising the investment cap in companies to NZ$1.5 million and removing the current NZ$250,000 funding round limit. Each angel investor group partner will also need to make a minimum investment commitment of NZ$1 million.

“The fund has been a vital part of helping start-ups thrive and is an effective tool in linking with angel investors to fund innovative new enterprises, partnering with 17 angel groups to date,” Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said.

“Early-stage capital markets have developed and grown since the early 2000s, therefore it is time to refocus the Fund to meet the needs of New Zealand’s growing start-up industry. We’re making some technical changes in how the fund invests in order for it to target improved investment returns and become self-sustaining. This will remove the need for further investment from the taxpayer.”

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