Pledge Me, the online crowd funding platform, has launched its first two equity offers, giving investors the chance to buy into New Zealand’s first computer museum, backed by Apple Inc co-founder Steve Wozniak, and a hovercraft ferry in the South Island. The Wellington-based crowd funder is licensed under the new Financial Markets Conduct Act, which came into effect on April 1, providing …

Wellington visitor management software firm WhosonLocation is looking to raise up to $3 million in private equity as it seeks the next phase of growth since it launched five years ago. Founder Darren Whitaker-Barnett told BusinessDesk the company, which operates in nine countries and boasts 61,000 users globally, is seeking high net worth individuals rather than an initial public offering, …

Insurance Australia Group may close all but one of its 22 State branches in New Zealand a bid to consolidate its national direct insurance network as more customers phone or turn online for assistance. The Auckland-based insurer will decide in mid-October whether to close the bulk of its branches, affecting 91 jobs, as 94 percent of its customers used its website or called for …