$100 Million for Social Startups
17 June 2015 at 11:39 am
Socially and environmentally conscious startups are set to benefit from the creation of the new $100 million Impact Investment Funds – said to be one of Australia’s biggest.
Impact Investment Fund Pty Ltd, which founder Geoff Gourley says is one of the biggest impact investment funds in Australia, will aim to invest based on the impact investment principles of promoting positive social and environmental values while also delivering financial returns.
He said the fund will invest in a mix of single manager hedge funds and sustainable and ethical enterprises, including water, wind, renewable, solar and social enterprise.
The opportunity to invest in the fund will be restricted to wholesale clients such as Pension Funds, Super Funds, Asset Managers, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Family Offices, Corporations and High Net Worth Individuals.
“Investing with us is an investment in creating a secure financial future while influencing a better world,” Gourley said.
Geoff Gourley is the Board Director of United Nations Association of Australia (VIC) and a Board Member of The Unstoppables, a network promoting sustainable business and entrepreneurship.
He said news of the new fund was announced following a recent visit to Australia by one of Silicon Valley's most prominent investors in early-stage technology companies. Adeo Ressi is the man behind 1,500 start-ups worth more than $10 billion, which have a success rate of 85 per cent.
Gourley said more has to be done immediately to ensure Australia does not fall permanently behind the rest of the world.
“Adeo was invited to Australia by Unstoppables to invigorate investors so they will take Australian start-ups seriously. Australia has some genuinely talented tech entrepreneurs who should be funded from within Australia, instead investors from Silicon Valley and Singapore are reaping the benefits,” he said.
“I believe Australia’s investment eco-system needs to be more favourable to tech start-ups. There needs to be greater Government support and entrepreneurs need to formulate their proposals so they are more attractive to investors.
“The mission for Unstoppables is to ignite Australia’s entrepreneurial spirit and the Impact Investment Fund Pty Ltd is in perfect alignment with that mission. The fund is looking for young Aussie entrepreneurs like Dave Jackson. Dave’s app called Car Crowd uses car-pooling to reduce carbon emissions.
“People like Dave now need to go to the next level, and we want that to take place in Australia. Not only can these innovations create Australian jobs, revenues will benefit the Australian economy. Inviting Adeo Ressi to Australia is an important wake-up call. Unstoppables has a raft of other highly regarded international players visiting our shores over the next 12 months that will further educate and inspire our most gifted entrepreneurs.”
Find out more at http://www.impactinvestmentfund.com.au/
