GovConnex raises 1M to organise government data

Sydney, Australia, 14 October 2021 - GovConnex, a political intelligence and relationship management platform, announces the completion of a $1M raise, led by new Australian VC firm Black Nova. The new injection of funds will enable GovConnex to scale it’s platform to organise all of Australia’s government data.

Following early success in the government relations space, the demand for a solution like GovConnex has continued to grow as access to government information and ability to easily manage risk becomes a must have for unions, industry associations, nonprofits, government relations teams and public affairs teams.

Managing Partner of Black Nova, Matt Browne said the investment is an exciting one as the government relations space is yet to see a platform with the capability or value creation that GovConnex is delivering to the industry out of the gates.

“GovConnex is both disruptive and transformative to the government relations industry, the team have built and scaled their business at a rapid pace off their own bootstraps and Black Nova is excited to be partnering with the team to support growth of the platform at home and abroad on what looks to be a very promising and successful journey", said Browne.  

The GovConnex platform captures information from a variety of government sources such as press releases, official statements, social media sites and parliamentary records.  It then organises it in a way that is meaningful for GovConnex clients making it an all-in-one platform for research, intelligence and relationship management. It also features workflow tools such as stakeholder list builder and a CRM platform to make it easy to log and report engagement activity.

GovConnex founder and CEO Cooper Darling-Blair said public affairs professionals are often bombarded with different sources of government information, which can take time and effort to collate before they can act on it.

“There is a huge shift for public affairs teams to shift from network and experience-based decision making models to ones that integrate the use of data and artificial intelligence to navigate dynamic, complex political environments.

"The GovConnex solution empowers government affairs professionals to make better business decisions quickly with real-time information right at their fingertips. Our ability to present traditionally disconnected information into meaningful insights gives our customers a significant edge.”

Neil Pharaoh, director of corporate affairs at Hireup, an online employment platform connecting Australians with disability with support workers said the impact GovConnex has had on Hireup’s workflow is indispensable.

"When it comes to the disability sector, we see enormous value in being able to navigate this complex political space much more efficiently. Our team is empowered to focus less time on research and more time on engaging with our key government stakeholders,” said Pharaoh.

Jonathon Flegg, Head of Public Policy & Government Partnerships at C|T Group said the GovConnex platform has made his team more efficient and is a game-changer.

“The tool gives our Corporate Advisory team the information we need, when we need it, so we can stay across some of our most consequential national conversations at the State and Federal level,” said Flegg.

Darling-Blair added, “Boards and senior execs are finding it harder than ever to understand how their government relations team is performing, and are looking for clarity. Being able to understand changes in regulations, make more informed decisions and even connect with key stakeholders in a more sustainable and effective way is crucial in today’s fast-paced environment, which can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line.”

GovConnex isn’t stopping here with plans to expand globally on the table.

“This move is the first of many on GovConnex trajectory with our goal of being the leading source of government information pushing us to think globally. We’re already seeing huge adoption here and we want to double down on that and expand globally, starting with New Zealand and the UK later this year,” said Darling-Blair.

For additional information or to keep up to date with GovConnex growth, please visit https://www.govconnex.com/.

-ENDS-

For further information and imagery please contact:

Liz Mckenzie - Miss Communications

liz@misscommunications.com.au
+61 403 359 105

About GovConnex:

GovConnex launched in 2019 to help public affairs professionals more efficiently navigate the complex Australian political landscape with software that brings together hundreds of data sources, combined with powerful workflow tools, in a single purpose built platform. The GovConnex team combine industry experience with technical know-how to deliver a political intelligence and relationship management offering uniquely suited to the challenges public affairs professionals face in their roles.

Visit their website at: https://www.govconnex.com/

About Cooper Darling-Blair:

After earning a law degree, Cooper Darling-Blair joined a government relations firm where he was consulting a range of clients on managing the risks associated with public policy. When he saw the risk exposure due to a lack of tools for collating government info, Cooper knew that there was a huge gap in the market that needed to be addressed.

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