NAB Ventures secures another $50 million to invest in fintech startups: Here’s what the fund is looking for
Australian big-four bank NAB has allocated another $50 million to its corporate venture capital fund NAB Ventures, doubling the funds available to bring the total to $100 million.
The fund was launched in 2016 with an initial $50 million to invest over three years. It has backed 12 businesses to date, including property investment startup BrickX, real estate communications platform ActivePipe, and data sharing startup Data Republic.
It has also made investments overseas into startups in San Francisco and Toronto.
NAB Ventures general partner Melissa Widner tells StartupSmart the doubling up of the funds represents an endorsement of the program from the bank.
“The board liked the innovation it was bringing to the bank,” she says.
“The financial piece is very much secondary,” she adds.
As much as NAB Ventures is looking for return on its investments, it’s also looking for strategic value.
“Large companies can’t move as quickly as startups,” says Widner.
NAB Ventures acts as “a conduit” to make it easier for startups to partner with the bank, and vice versa, she adds.
Although NAB Ventures has only made 12 investments to date, Widner says the investment team has met more than 2000 startups over the past three years.
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