An entrepreneur says a gap in the funding market for companies wanting to raise between $1 million and $5 million is creating a hurdle for small to medium-sized New Zealand businesses.
Rod Drury, who founded listed accountancy software company Xero, became a director on the board of the stock market operator NZX in November.
Mr Drury believes parts of the capital-raising market are broken. He says New Zealand has many small to medium-sized businesses that need acceleration capital to prove themselves.
Mr Drury says New Zealand has a natural barrier to get to larger markets of beyond four million consumers.
He says improving productivity across the small-business sector will boost the economy and create more jobs.
