What if the next Rocket Lab, Fingermark, or Xero was already here in Hawke’s Bay, but we missed it?
While other regions have been building angel investor networks and early-stage capital ecosystems to back bold ideas, Hawke’s Bay has been sitting on the sidelines.

We’ve got talented founders, emerging innovators and world-class research, but no clear path to investment. No angel network. No fund. No matchmaking platform to connect smart local money with the start-ups that could shape our region’s future.

The result? Entrepreneurs are looking out of region to raise capital, heading to places like Enterprise Angels in Tauranga or Icehouse Ventures in Auckland, simply because Hawke’s Bay doesn’t have a home-grown solution.

The Foodeast team wants to change that.

“There’s a real opportunity to create something here that connects local capital with local innovation,” says Foodeast Haumako chief executive Michael Bassett-Foss.
“It’s not that the money isn’t here. It is. But we haven’t built the frameworks to get it moving.”

No framework, no funnel

In his role at Foodeast Haumako, Hawke’s Bay’s dedicated food hub focused on innovation and growth, Michael hears the same thing time and again: businesses need capital to grow, and they’re struggling to find it locally.

“It came through strongly in our recent industry survey,” he says. “Capital access is a major barrier. And it’s not just food businesses, it’s across the board.”

The irony? Hawke’s Bay is brimming with investment potential.
“There’s latent capital sitting in this region, inside agribusinesses, balance sheets, investment portfolios,” he says. “But we haven’t had an organised way to connect that with the businesses that need it. So companies have had to go elsewhere.”

That’s not to say there haven’t been successful capital raises here – Kaweka Hospital and Now Telecommunications have attracted local investment – but they’ve done so by grinding it out, door by door, without any formal structure behind them.
“There’s no single front door to investment here,” Michael says. “Just 15 different ones, depending on who you know.”

Planting the seed

To test whether Hawke’s Bay was ready to step up, Michael and his team recently hosted a small investment forum – a deliberately low-key pilot to gauge interest and energy. It worked.
“We had around 30 people in the room,” he says. “We brought in a speaker from Enterprise Angels in the Bay of Plenty to explain how early-stage investment works – the good, the bad, the realities of what’s involved.”

Two local companies pitched – Mara Bio and Ross AI – and were well received. The response from attendees was promising, even if the timing wasn’t ideal.

“Running an investor forum in July, when many high-net-worth individuals are offshore, wasn’t the smartest move,” Michael says with a grin. “But even the ones who couldn’t attend said: ‘Keep me in the loop; I’m keen to be involved.’”

What happens next

With proof of concept and a clear appetite, the next steps are now being mapped out.
“We’re not rushing,” Michael says. “This needs to be done properly. The next forum will be in a few months, but we’re also exploring whether we create a formal fund, partner with an existing fund, or build a platform that simply matches investors with opportunities.”

Those models exist elsewhere – Enterprise Angels, Icehouse Ventures, Angel Investors Marlborough – and Hawke’s Bay could adapt something similar. Marlborough, for example, has raised more than $30 million across 78 companies since 2017, all from a region with a similar demographic to Hawke’s Bay.

“It’s achievable,” Michael says. “But we need to put the building blocks in place.”

Deal flow and due diligence

One of the big questions now is whether Hawke’s Bay has enough quality start-ups to support a sustained investor network.
“We don’t know what we don’t know,” he says. “We suspect there’s plenty of innovation happening behind closed doors, but it’s not coming through the funnel because the funnel doesn’t exist.”

To fix that, the region needs more than just investor events. It needs start-up readiness programmes, pitch coaching, and investor education, so both sides of the deal are prepared. “In other regions, there are organisations that help with due diligence, support the founder through the process, and guide investors through what to look for. That infrastructure is critical.”

Not just about food

While Foodeast Haumako’s primary focus is businesses involved in food and beverage production, Michael is adamant that the investment initiative needs to be broader.
“Investors want choice. You can’t lock them into a single sector. And some of the best ideas coming out of the region aren’t necessarily in food – they’re in tech, AI, sustainability, and even infrastructure,” he says. “While we are strongly focused on food and beverage, there is room across the board to support all of that.”

The bigger picture

For Michael, this isn’t just about one forum or one fund. It’s about building a smarter, more connected regional economy, one where innovation is backed, talent is retained, and ideas don’t leave the region before they’ve had a chance to grow.

“If we can create the right environment, good infrastructure, good support, access to capital, then we’ll start to see businesses not just grow here, but stay here. That’s how you shift the dial on regional GDP, on jobs, on long-term prosperity.”

He’s realistic. It won’t happen overnight. But the direction of travel is clear, and the need is urgent.
“There’s no silver bullet,” he says. “But there’s a hell of a lot of potential. We just need to get organised, get connected, and get moving.”

If you’re interested in knowing more about Foodeast Haumako, visit www.foodeast.co.nz