VIDEO: Venture in Oz
AVCAL's Katherine Woodthorpe and CHAMP Private Equity's Bill Ferris explain to AVCJ TV why venture investing in Australia appeals, and why the industry on a whole still lags behind other PE investment avenues.
"There are mismatches between the amount of capital available - which is low - and the opprotunites available, which is high," Woodthorpe tells AVCJ, adding that Australia's venture industry is appealing because of its resilience, weathering both the dot-com boom and the GFC.
Historically technology, energy, life sciences, biotech, and to some extent communications, have all been prime targets for venture firms. In 2010, 33 venture investments were made totalling just under $200 million, according to AVCJ Research - representing less than 2% of the PE and VC industry by capital deployed.
"To some extent the future of venture has always preceded itself. The country needs it; we have a culture and a history of innovation," Ferris adds. "On the other hand we also have a small market premium, and we haven't been great at commercializing some of our discoveries, and that continues to play out here."
Read more about Australia's venture sector in AVCJ.
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