Australian VC firm launches fintech accelerator
(6 September 2016 – Australia) H2 Ventures, an Australian-based fintech accelerator, has unveiled plans for its newest venture, H2 Ocean, together with a plan to raise between A$27.5 million and A$55 million as well as look to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX.
In a statement, the firm said that it has recently secured a number of integral investments, collectively dictating its future plans and ambitions – this includes the rollout of H2 Ocean, a disruptive investment portfolio initiative. H2 Ocean will aim to procure a portfolio of between 15 and 50 leading fintech companies within Australian and other regions.
H2 Ventures’ co-founders, Toby and Ben Heap, are also eyeing an ASX listing. The brothers also predict an increase in growth in the upcoming years, with a recently released H2 prospectus stating: “H2Ocean Shareholders will gain investment exposure to early and growth stage Fintech Ventures that would otherwise be difficult to access while the H2Ocean investment portfolio may also provide a hedge against traditional bank and insurance investments that are at risk of digital disruption.”
Former federal innovation minister Wyatt Roy, who will join H2Ocean as a non-executive director, said the company is "using a market mechanism to achieve what we were trying to do with politics".
"When you look the policy settings we put into the innovation and science agenda, it was all about attracting more private capital into innovation," he said. "It didn't always get written up that way but for me, that was the policy objective … We are seeing the democratisation of investment into innovation through a company like this. We haven't seen this market open to retail investors in this way in this country in the past."
Roy will join other directors including Channel Seven personality, David Koch, Equity Trustees director Anne O'Donnell.
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has confirmed that he will subscribe for shares in the initial public offering of H2Ocean.
"Fintech is an exciting space for Australia right now and I'm excited to be investing with H2Ocean to help make that happen," Cannon-Brookes told the Australian Financial Review.
Investors in the initial float will have the opportunity to also directly invest in some startups that H2Ocean bring to the table.
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