A free-trade champion and member of the G20, Australia is an inclusive, multicultural society that is intimately connected to its partner nations through its people, its trade, its aid and a form of socially and environmentally aware entrepreneurship that encourages a rising tide for all people, everywhere. These values and characteristics align strongly with those of the WBAF.
As announced by the World Business Angels Investment Forum, Jordan Green, President of the Melbourne Angels & Victorian State Chairman of the National Executive Committee of the Pearcey Foundation, has been appointed as High Commissioner for Australia. High Commissioner Green will represent Australia at the Grand Assembly of the World Business Angels Investment Forum. The inclusion of Australia in WBAF opens the doors on a wide range of multilateral opportunities for Australian start-ups, scaleups and high growth businesses to engage with global markets, peers and investors.
With this new appointment, Australia has joined the largest forum of the world’s equity investment markets. Now Australian Angel investors, incubation centres, accelerators, private equity funds, co-investment funds, technology parks, corporate ventures and aspiring entrepreneurs will have even more opportunity to connect with global leaders in the same fields.
The inclusion of Australia in WBAF opens the doors on a wide range of multilateral opportunities for Australian start-ups, scaleups and high growth businesses to engage with global markets, peers and investors. The new opportunities for other members of the WBAF community will stem from Australia, with only 0.3% of global population, as the 13th largest economy and the highest projected average real GDP growth rate among all the major advanced economies. With the second highest median wealth per adult, Australia has had the longest run of uniterrupted GDP growth in the world, 28 years! This strength has been backed and fuelled, in part, by the strength of Australian innovation and entrepneurship, demonstrated in recent years with the rapid rise of unicorn companies serving national and global markets.
A free-trade champion and member of the G20, Australia is an inclusive, multicultural society that is intimately connected to its partner nations through its people, its trade, its aid and a form of socially and environmentally aware entrepreneurship that encourages a rising tide for all people, everywhere. These values and characteristics align strongly with those of the WBAF.
Baybars Altuntas, Exeecutive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Business Angels Investment Forum says “As an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnerships for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the WBAF supports start-ups, develops entrepreneurial ecosystems, and helps venture capital and companies connect with international companies, fintechs and other relevant institutions. We are confident about our contribution to economic development by facilitating connections with entrepreneurial ecosystems. We welcome Australia for the contribution it can make as one of the fastest growing and most advanced start-up nations.”
Jordan Green, President of Melbourne Angels and new High Commissioner to WBAF says, “When I founded the organised Angel investor community in Australia it was always to be an integral part of the global Angel community. Angel investors fund more startups and, through them, more jobs than any other early-stage investor asset class. At this time of economic crisis it is these highly skilled jobs inherently born to survive in high risk ventures that will drive the future of each of our economies. It is an honour to be invited to be the WBAF High Commissioner for Australia. Just as my Angel group has been pivotal in helping my city, Melbourne, become the fifth fastest-growing start-up ecosystem in the world, I hope my connection with WBAF will help Australia sustain its place among the best start-up nations and share our resources and opportunities to drive economic growth and diversity in our partner economies all over the planet.
About the World Business Angels ınvestment Forum
As an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) is committed to collaborating globally to empower the economic development of the world by fostering innovative financial instruments for startups, scaleups, innovators, entrepreneurs and SMEs and to promoting gender equality and women’s participation in all sectors of the world economy. WBAF invites you to join our global efforts to ease access to finance, promote financial inclusion, and create more jobs and social justice.
WBAF accomplishes its mission through various parties and channels. These include: 138 high commissioners, senators and international partners from 79 countries; 7 country offices on 5 continents; the WBAF Business School and its more than 50 faculty members from 32 countries; and 5 international working committees. WBAF also has an angel investment fund, partnerships with 12 global institutions, and economic cooperation agreements with 5 governments. The WBAF World Congress, held in February of each year, hosts at least 5 summits and numerous other events, including a Global Fundraising Stage and a World Excellence Awards ceremony. WBAF also boasts a number of publications, among which are the WBAF Business School Journal, World Class Startup Magazine, and Angel Investor Review Online.
About GPFI
The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries, and relevant stakeholders to carry forward work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan endorsed at the G20 Summit in Seoul. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is the Honorary Patron of the GPFI.
About Jordan Green
Jordan has spent a lifetime collaborating to change the world. Addicted to applying bleeding edge technology to solve real world problems, more than 40 years in strategic governance roles and driven to discover disruptive business models. Jordan fosters solutions that change people’s lives. Jordan remains excited and engaged, using his unusual skills to provide thought-leadership that helps others understand their potential and see the opportunities for positive change.
As engineer, executive, founder, director and investor for over 40 years Jordan has helped start, build and grow technology-based ventures in Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA. Combining his own learning with the wisdom of colleagues from all over the world, Jordan has helped guide thousands of aspiring investors and entrepreneurs on four continents and quite a few islands too.
Jordan is the leading developer and educator for Angel investing in the Southern Hemipshere. His workshops have been delivered, by him and under license, to thousands of active and aspiring investors as well as founders and advisers in Australasia and across Asia.
Working in and to government in Australia and overseas has been a persistent aspect of Jordan’s engagement with ecosystem and economic development. Ranging across large infrastructure projects, aerospace and defence programs, innovation promotion initiatives and investment development (capability and capacity). He has been involved in policy development, program design, delivery and performance assessment.
An internationally sought after consultant in early-stage ecosystems Jordan is a Silicon Valley software veteran, co-founder of a top performing VC fund in Australia, co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Australian Association of Angel Investors (AAAI), Founder/President of investor group Melbourne Angels, Trustee of the Angel Resource Institute (USA), Chairman of the Asian Business Angel Forum, served on the SME Special Interest Committee for the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a longstanding member and Chairman of an Industry Advisory Group for the University of Melbourne where he is an Honorary Fellow.
Fellow of the AAAI, Graduate of the AICD and Chartered Professional Engineer for more than twenty years, Jordan has degrees in Electronics Engineering from RMIT, MBA from the Melbourne Business School and post-graduate qualifications in Governance, Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Product Development plus experience as a postgraduate research fellow in biomedical engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
