Jamie Newth

Dr. Jamie Newth is the Founder and CEO of Soul Capital, an Auckland-based impact investment firm founded in 2014. Soul Capital describes itself as investing across venture capital, debt, and real assets, with a focus on climate, equity, and regeneration. Its team page lists Jamie as Founder & CEO, and public company records list him as a director of Soul Capital Limited since 22 April 2014.

Jamie’s career bridges academia, entrepreneurship, and investing. The University of Auckland describes him as a Business School Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship whose work focuses on social innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact investing. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce, Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce, Master of Commerce, and PhD at the University of Auckland Business School, majoring in Management and International Business and later specialising in Organisational Change and Innovation.

Soul Capital grew out of Jamie’s PhD work on social entrepreneurship and impact investing. In a University of Auckland interview, he said his research explored the economic and social systems needed for a sustainable and inclusive economy, and that he saw a gap for aligned capital to support entrepreneurs building that future. Before fully committing to Soul Capital, he worked as an independent consultant with purpose-driven organisations, small businesses, local government, and social innovation projects.

By 2026, Soul Capital positioned itself as a multi-asset impact investor with headline metrics including 30 investments, $148M in co-investment, 61,094t CO2e avoided, 81 people in homes, and 3,668t of landfill diversion. The University of Auckland has described Soul Capital as New Zealand’s largest impact investment fund manager, with $75M in funds under management.

• Soul Capital’s core premise is that “the best returns come from backing people and ideas on the right side of history.”
• Jamie looks for ventures where impact is not a reporting layer but part of the product or service itself. He told the University of Auckland that Soul likes to see social or environmental impact “baked into the product or service” and diligences the “veracity and integrity” of that impact.
• Founder-market fit matters. Jamie has said Soul looks for founders who understand the social or environmental problem deeply enough to address root causes, not only symptoms.
• Commercial capability is required alongside impact. Jamie has said founders must be capable of commercial success because Soul requires financial return and expects enterprises to grow in order to grow their impact.
• Soul invests across venture capital, debt, and real assets rather than staying in one asset class. Its stated rationale is that climate, equity, and inclusion require different capital tools at different stages.
• Venture focus areas include regenerative environment, increased equity, and inclusion.
• Te Pae ki te Rangi backs early-stage startups, emerging models, and established organisations ready to grow or transform, with investment sizes from $250K to $8M.
• Awhi, now fully deployed and closed, was built as New Zealand’s first dedicated impact venture capital fund and focused on seed-stage impact ventures.