Hi there,

Covid be damned. The Federal Government is planning to open the borders to the world's talent pool, with the launch of the Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce – operating as a ‘strike team’ to ‘turbo-charge the creation of jobs’, no less.

The talent taskforce comes hard on the heels of fast-tracked visas and border restriction exemptions for 17 occupations, including software engineers, developer programmers, chief executives and managing directors.

High value visa schemes already exist, of course, but the new scheme will be proactively approaching ‘highly talented’ people, building on the Global Talent Visa scheme launched last year.

Bringing in energetic people with proven nous and skills is a good idea. But ensuring rich-listers don't use the schemes to get their foot in the door to grab some real estate and enjoy the antipodean lifestyle is another challenge. And they better not have Covid.

In other news this week:

Sex-tech comes out from under the covers
The ‘secret’ to winning at B2C
Cruchbase calls out A/NZ as hotspot (with Kiwi agritech also bullish)
Epicor’s SaaS-y new owners – and cloud future
Zag builds SAP e-commerce practice

Enjoy the read,

Heather Wright
Editor
editor@istart.com.au

VISA SCHEMES

Govts on the hunt for global tech talent

Closed borders are opening (just a bit) in order to tempt talent Downunder…

“Do you lead a top tier business, or are you a highly skilled professional looking to invest your success and talents in a new location?

Whether prioritised processing and higher service standards could be enough to tempt such a high-value business to actually relocate is another matter.

[Read more]

SEX-TECH

Sex-tech: Ready to explode

But is it all just digital junk?…

Thanks to the isolating qualities of the global Covid-19 lockdowns, the popularity of ‘sex-tech’ devices is all the way up, says Juniper.

There may even be a real knock-on effect of reducing the demand for human trafficking.

[Read more]

RETAIL

B2C commerce: Vast, fast and relentless

Forrester’s view of the new consumer buying era…

If you’re in a consumer facing business, listen up: You’re entering the most frenzied phase of innovation you’ve ever been in, and consumers won’t be letting you rest anytime soon.

“If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that sometimes even large capital expenses carefully invested in over the years need to be re-evaluated.”

[Read more]

VENTURE FUNDING

Sperm bank bullish on agritech

LIC fund adds impetus to 50 percent growth in A/NZ venture funding…

In the face of a global downturn in venture funding, New Zealand’s Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) has launched a new early-stage investment fund dairy innovation.

“It’s important NZ retains its leading dairy reputation and investing in new innovations and technology is central to ensuring that.”

[Read more]

ACQUISITION

Epicor looks to cloud, further deals under new owners

CD&R buys in to SaaS challenges…

A renewed cloud focus may be on the cards for Epicor after the ERP vendor was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in a deal valued at US$4.7 billion.

“This will allow Epicor to develop a focused set of products in an SaaS model.”

[Read more]

LEADERSHIP

Zag boosts e-commerce leadership

Seasoned SAP architect bolsters capability…

Leading SAP specialist, Zag, has announced a new leadership appointment to support its award-winning e-commerce practice.

“After all, this is where the magic happens."

[Read more]

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