Fomana Capital is a boutique business based in Wellington that focuses on commercialising technology, raising capital for parties that seek investment and fostering international relationships with distributors and international markets. The Fomana team is able to link opportunities and broker deals between international, New Zealand and indigenous companies.
Fomana has three key capabilities within the team. Firstly, our media. An independent Maori view on business and commerce (see Koha Magazine below). Secondly, our extensive research, knowledge and experience in instituting structures for organisations that seek commercial partners and appropriate commercial vehicles. Thirdly, our ability to navigate clients through science, technology and commercialisation systems.
Fomana is well aware that New Zealand has a number of technologies that could contribute to growing the New Zealand economy and making it less reliant on agricultural commodities and tourism as our main foreign income earners. The New Zealand government could consider radical measures to enable a fundamental shift in the incentives that drive wealth and investment in research, science and technology. Structures and accountabilities are required; however they are a means at best, not the system proper. Transforming the economy requires systems that are aligned to the engine of growth. In short the innovators, the entrepreneurs and the capital investors.
Let’s be honest, first and foremost technology and commercialisations are two of the most radical and dynamic systems. Technology and commercialisation feed off one another. They are fundamental to each other – they are essential lovers and the pro-creators of economic and social advancement.
Innovation has been fundamental to the advancement of humanity worldwide. Societies without strong and innovative financial systems are less productive than those with financial innovation– even taking into account the global financial crisis. Technology innovation has been the vanguard, and continues to drive human advancement, be it via production systems, transport, information, communication or life expectancy. Life expectancy is interesting case and point. In particular health, beauty, care, food and wellness, will continue to remain one of the largest and lucrative businesses worldwide.
Why? Because of self interest! The following lyrics summarises the answer. “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die”. The lines between functional foods, pharmacy, health and nutraceuticals are blurred.
Innovators and entrepreneurial companies can be a threat to those that are established. Fomana wonders whether a company such as YouTube when developing their business went to an established media company and said do you like our idea? The fact is many in the established media and the suppliers of media technology prior to YouTube held the market share and reaped the returns. YouTube radically change the face of media. It became available to everyone with the web access.
There is a deep issue hidden within this conversation that should not be lost. Innovation both through technology and financial is about market change and radical shifts in the use of resources.
Mai New Zealand is about from New Zealand – it is a value proposition that is central to Fomana and we acknowledge that this is true for Poutama as well. For New Zealand to succeed and more importantly for New Zealanders to be higher income earners and subsequently, savers and investors, New Zealand needs more than to simply sell its assets, or extract more of its natural resources or sell more agricultural commodities. New Zealand needs better margins. Margin growth will greatly determine value and wealth creation. New Zealand could incentivise its science, research and technology sectors to link directly with the commercial sector, capital markets and foreign investors, both inward and outward.
The bottom line is it takes money through each step of the technology and commercialisation process. Money to conduct research, money to test research, money to test applicability in markets, money to raise more money, money to distribute, money to become economic in production terms, money to secure the supply chain, money to make money and so the cycle goes.
If you want to discuss this, give us a call or send Fomana an e-mail. We have a team here who can do more than talk – we can help you build a technology and commercial agenda.
Koha magazine is another Fomana innovation “The World of Indigenous Business” and Fomana has made this available free on the Web
Fomana also has a print copy available for sale and if you want to do business in Koha – give us a call or e-mail. The concept of Koha is twofold. One to provide a vehicle to communicate indigenous views from a business and commercial standpoint. Secondly to provide a portal Koha.biz that can act as a mega-connector where indigenous peoples and businesses can connect and create commercial opportunities with investors and international markets