Fund manager V-Ignite named to back Victorian startups
New fund manager V-Ignite has been named to run the Victorian Startup Capital Fund (VSCF).
Led by Neil Stanford and Brighid Pappin, highly respected leaders in the Australian venture capital sector, V-Ignite will bring together the skills and expertise of the former Hostplus Private Equity and Venture Capital team with leading VC manager, Brandon Capital.
V-Ignite is set to raise at least $60 million from investors, including superfunds, wealth managers and high net worth individuals, to match the Labor Government’s cornerstone investment managed by LaunchVic.
Investors in the new VSCF will benefit from access to Victoria’s growing start-up sector and a diverse range of other equity funds, as well as a preferential rate on returns.
Announced in the Government’s 2019-20 budget, the VSCF has been designed to harness budding entrepreneurs as they look to grow their companies.
V-Ignite was selected through a competitive procurement process run by LaunchVic, with the support of an expert selection panel.
Potential investors interested in finding out more about the Victorian Startup Capital Fund can email: info@vignite.vc
“This is a red-letter day for Victoria’s startup community. Our ecosystem is growing rapidly and this fund will turbocharge this growth. This Fund led by V-Ignite will invest in local VC Funds and enable more startups to scale, driving economic growth and creating new jobs for Victorians,” said Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford.
LaunchVic Chair Leigh Jasper added, “The V-Ignite team led by Neil Stanford are highly respected leaders in the Australian venture capital sector. This appointment is a huge win for the VSCF and ultimately for the sector.
“Having a deeper investment pool creates a virtuous circle where more startups are supported to grow and succeed and ultimately exit.”
“V-Ignite applauds LaunchVic for identifying the funding gap in early-stage startups in Victoria and proactively addressing this with the creation of the VSCF,” said V-Ignite’s Managing Director Neil Stanford.
“By creating a successful collaboration model, V-Ignite believes we can ignite the next wave of Victorian and Australian innovation,” he concluded.
