New Zealand Primary Ventures
From volume
to value.
A specialist, independent venture fund enabling New Zealand's primary sector to become a global exporter of scalable innovation and intellectual property — not just raw commodities.
The thesis
The backbone of the economy — still selling volume, not value.
New Zealand's primary sector is globally respected for its efficiency, expertise, and production capability. Yet it largely remains focused on producing greater volumes of raw commodities rather than adding value to them.
NZPV exists to change that — turning a producer of world-class commodities into a global exporter of scalable innovation and intellectual property, by pairing investment with infrastructure and operational guidance.
The opportunity
A structural gap — and a global system restructuring toward value.
Less than 5% of New Zealand venture capital reaches the primary sector, exactly as the global high-value food system restructures toward a $9.9 trillion ecosystem by 2035. Traceable provenance, functional nutrition, climate-smart production and premium natural ingredients — the categories NZPV is built to target.
- $ 62 B
- Primary sector revenue ≈ 15% of GDP
- 83 %
- of NZ goods-export earnings from the primary sector
- < 5 %
- of NZ venture capital reaches the primary sector
- $ 9.9 T
- global food ecosystem by 2035 PwC analysis
Globally respected for what it grows — built to scale what it invents.
The NZPV thesis
How we execute
Capital, platform and global reach — under one roof.
- 01
Capital
A $5M+ seed fund making 10–15 investments in New Zealand primary-sector innovators with genuine global potential.
- 02
Platform
Access to test farms, pilot manufacturing, laboratories and industry infrastructure — real-world validation before international scale.
- 03
Networks
Strategic Asia-Pacific and global networks that bridge New Zealand production to international market scale.
Why NZPV
Built to endure.
“A specialist, independent, high-value, seed-stage, platform-backed venture company — built for 100+ years of generational impact.”
- 01
Specialist
100% focused on the primary sector — not a generalist with an agri sleeve.
- 02
Independent
Commercially driven and aligned to real financial returns for LPs.
- 03
Seed-stage
Early entry, where the capital gap between science and commercialisation is widest.
- 04
Platform-backed
Powered by Icehouse Ventures' back office, reporting and infrastructure.
- 05
Rooted
Māori and iwi partnership built into the firm from the start.
- 06
Reinvesting
50% of carry returned into the firm to compound the institution.
- 07
Connected
Direct Asia-Pacific and global export networks for portfolio scale-up.
- 08
Enduring
A 100-year institutional vision, not a single-fund horizon.
The ecosystem
Connective tissue, not competition.
Every player in New Zealand's innovation ecosystem has a role. NZPV is the connective tissue — where early deal flow becomes IP-rich companies, and New Zealand companies become global businesses.
- Feeds in
Accelerators, research grants and deep-tech partners surface early, IP-rich deal flow.
- NZPV
Seed-stage capital plus platform — where deal flow becomes globally scalable companies.
- Scales out
Graduates to growth capital, corporate partners and Asia-Pacific export markets.
The team
The people building it.
A founding team spanning New Zealand's food-innovation ecosystem, Asia-Pacific finance and diplomacy, and venture operations — with Icehouse Ventures as platform partner.
-
Grant Verry
CEO & Co-founder
Former CEO of The FoodBowl and Chair of the APAC Food Innovation Network; Director of Singapore FoodPlant. Deep networks across New Zealand's primary-innovation sector.
-
Jonathan Williams
Co-founder
HSBC NZ Executive Committee (10 years) and MFAT Japan (6 years). International finance, communications and marketing leadership across APAC. Fluent Japanese.
-
Jay Verry
Co-founder
Venture operations and business development with advisory leadership across Kiwi ventures. Passionate about their global scalability. Ngāi Tahu affiliated.
Get in touch
Help build an enduring institution for New Zealand's primary sector.
NZPV is assembling the cornerstone investors for Fund I. If you'd like to help turn the primary sector from volume to value, we'd like to hear from you.