BayTrust invests $10m into three Bay of Plenty enterprises as it aims to have a sustainable portfolio by 2030

Habitat for Humanity will be able to build more houses with the investment from BayTrust.

BayTrust is pumping $10 million into investments in the region to tackle issues around housing, climate change, Māori development and transitioning to a high-wage economy.

The latest round of money comes off the back of its $10m commitment to the region’s new Housing Equity Fund earlier this year, and it hopes other investors will follow in its footsteps to enable the region to flourish.

Habitat for Humanity would receive $4.6m to support their progressive home ownership programme across the Bay of Plenty, and central region general manager Nic Greene said the money would change lives.

The loan would match an equivalent amount of Government funding and enable local families to build, rent and eventually buy their homes outright over the next 15 years.

“It will enable us to deliver more houses. There is no shortage of people who just need somewhere warm, safe and quiet to live, so having a range of housing products is so important.”

WNT Ventures — an established deep-tech investment company raising its fourth fund — would receive a $4m cornerstone stake from BayTrust.

Company partner Carl Jones said it invested in New Zealand companies making science and engineering developments. It worked with many of New Zealand’s universities, research institutes and private founders developing their own technology.

It had a portfolio of more than 26 companies in its previous three funds. The new fund would aim to invest in another 15, plus new companies throughout New Zealand over the next three years, Jones said.

Tamata Hauha matua and co-founder Blair Jamieson said its $1m investment from BayTrust was for regenerative forestry, agroforestry and transitioning to native types of forestry within the Bay of Plenty.

“Our programme works with Māori landholders who are unable to secure finance from traditional financial institutions … we provide all the funding and support to restore landholders and make them profitable for whānau.”

Tamata Hauha was in the space of developing forestry and solar farms.

“So on both ends of addressing climate change, we provide solutions that both capture carbon and reduce the need to burn fossil fuels.”

BayTrust chief executive Alastair Rhodes said it wanted to invest in the future success of the region and its people.

“With our grant funding being limited, we’re looking at ways we can maximise the impact we’re having by making use of our $250m balance sheet. Our communities are currently facing some very challenging issues, but that also creates opportunities for New Zealand to innovate.

“So we are deliberately focusing on ‘impact investing’ in these four key areas to deliver a positive social, environmental and financial return.”

Investment committee chairman Steve Napier said there was increasing momentum to make “impact and positive investments” among New Zealand trusts, which collectively managed over $5 billion worth of funds and distributed profits to their local community organisations, groups and projects.

“BayTrust is certainly leading the way in this space, but our aim is to forge a path for other investors to come in behind us.”

He said the latest investments created opportunities for other philanthropic entities to co-invest, but it also hoped to see more commercial, institutional capital flow into these areas.

BayTrust was working towards the goal of having its entire investment portfolio environmentally sustainable by 2030 by only investing in companies or funds that provide goods and services consistent with a low-carbon, prosperous, equitable, healthy and safe society, Napier said.

It also aimed to increase its impact investments to 15 per cent of its investment portfolio within 10 years.

Carmen Hall is a news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, covering business and general news. She has been a Voyager Media Awards winner and a journalist for 25 years.