Welcome to Wellington’s
tech community
Wellington is home to a vibrant tech ecosystem
Here in one of the world’s most connected and walkable innovation ecosystems, Wellington’s founders are building scalable, globally ambitious companies across fintech, AI, SaaS, climate tech, creative tech and more – punching well above our weight with a strong community.
Founders, local Iwi, creators, scientists, engineers, researchers and supporters – working shoulder to shoulder at the intersection of government, universities and industry. Many pathways, one goal: to start, scale and grow globally ambitious companies from Wellington.
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This is your space to connect with the community
Stay in the know with all things tech in Wellington. Join a community, connect at an event, sponsor an initiative, explore the ecosystem and stay update with tech sector news.
We’re growing Wellington’s Tech Sector
200+
Emerging tech companies based in Wellington
55+
Local tech events run
in 2025-2026
$182M
Total capital raised by emerging tech companies in Wellington
Good news stories from Wellington
FEIJOA: A Wellington Fintech making saving as simple as spending
Meet Feijoa There’s a quiet behavioural problem at the heart of personal finance: saving requires sustained, deliberate effort over decades, while spending requires almost none. Wellington fintech Feijoa is built on the premise that this imbalance can be fixed. Feijoa’s…
Wellington’s ‘Creative Tech’ scene has a new starting point
Creative HQ wraps Creative Tech Activate Not all founders are ready to commit to a full accelerator or a longer-term incubator. But every founder needs somewhere to start – a place to test their ideas, find their footing, and connect…
Access Activator backs 6 accessibility projects
A platform making sport more accessible to thousands of children is just 1 of the successful projects selected for the inaugural Access Activator programme. Developed in partnership the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha and Creative HQ, the programme invited…
12 New Zealand female entrepreneurs you need to know in 2026
New Zealand’s tech sector moves our country forward in ways that matter – new approaches to managing money, tools to tackle climate challenges, more resilient infrastructure, products that make everyday life a little better. Innovation is in our Kiwi DNA….
The organisations investing in Wellington tech and startups
Behind every thriving startup ecosystem is a network of organisations that connect capital with opportunity. In Wellington, that network is collaborative, well-structured and increasingly outward-looking. This month, we’re spotlighting key investor organisations committing capital into the region: As New Zealand’s…
What’s it like hunting for a job in a Wellington tech company?
Wellington has a reputation for producing ambitious startups, with many people in the city angling to join a tech company to grow their career. But despite this being a growing and energised sector, there’s conflicting data about the job market…
Tech Groups in Wellington: How to Find Your Community
Wellington has a thriving community for innovation, startups and all things tech. Behind the scenes, there is a dynamic network of developers, designers, founders and curious learners who are coming together to share ideas, build projects and support one another’s…
The resurgence of NZ Tech Rally
The NZ Tech Rally community and its annual conference isn’t just another event packed with buzzwords and polished presentations. Its core mission is to provide inclusive spaces for the Aotearoa tech community to celebrate, connect and grow together. They achieve…
Fintech Hui Taumata 2026
Wellington was buzzing with energy as hundreds of innovators, entrepreneurs and industry leaders came together for Fintech Hui Taumata 2026 in Wellington. This is New Zealand’s flagship fintech event, bringing together leaders from government, financial services, technology and startups to collaborate…
COUNT: A Wellington–Seattle story and the future of accounting software
Meet Wellington’s newest accounting startup: COUNT COUNT’s founders see the accounting SaaS industry as ripe for disruption – with large incumbents dominating the market, prices too high, and innovation having slowed. At the same time, accountants and bookkeepers are spending…
Wāhine shaping the future of Creative Tech
The Wāhine Fuelled Tech community meets four times during the year, and the latest gathering at Creative HQ drew an energised crowd of people building the creative tech sector. The room was buzzing with wāhine and industry allies championing each…
Genesia Girls Create-a-thon
Genesia Girls have been hosting workshops and events like Hackathons, Create-a-thons over the last year, bringing together high school female and gender-diverse students to explore creative technologies such as game design, animation, 3D modelling and web design. Over these weekends,…
Could Creative Tech be Wellington’s next goldmine?
It’s a match. The city’s creatives are joining forces with the tech sector to support the next generation of creators, and Creative HQ believes that with the right support, Creative Tech has the potential to become Wellington’s next goldmine. Announced…
Why Fintech in Wellington is thriving
Wellington’s economy has always been a beautiful blend of public service, arts, hospitality, and innovative small and medium-sized businesses that don’t let the southerly wind ever blow away their ambition. We’re biased at Creative HQ, but looking across the private…
Startup Stories – Roady
For founder Roscoe Price Moor, Roady NZ started with a simple idea: to monetise the classic Kiwi road trip. Initially, the business offered self-drive tour packages – car, accommodation, and personalised itineraries for international travellers. The response was strong, but…
Startup Stories – FTN Motion
You can’t go far in Wellington without seeing a Streetdog from FTN Motion cruising by you on the roads. They are rideable works of art. We were fortunate enough to be able to work with the FTN team in our…
Startup Stories – Hnry
The FinTech Accelerator programme alumni Hnry is a great example of the power of building a scalable solution on a straightforward problem that is experienced by many people. What is Hnry? Hnry, founded by James and Claire Fuller, is an…
Startup Stories – Sharesies
Sharesies has become a household name in New Zealand. We were lucky to be able to work with them when they were a team of six founders in Creative HQ’s 2017 FinTech Accelerator programme. Their story provides a great example…
Startup Stories – Publons
The story of Publons is a great illustration of the power of vision and determination, and the impact you can achieve with a startup. Publons was one of the 10 companies in our first startup accelerator programme, Lightning Lab 2013….
Startup Stories – Silverstripe
How many companies in New Zealand can claim that they played a critical role in our COVID response and helped Barack Obama get elected? Silverstripe can, and they can also rightfully claim to be a key part of the fabric…
Founder Stories – Shalini Divya
Shalini Divya started her founder’s journey by creating the company TasmanIon as an extension of her PhD research on new battery technologies, which she started back in 2018. We first met Shalini when she brought her company into Creative HQ’s…
Founder Stories – Scotty Diamond
Scotty Diamond started his founder’s journey by creating Fit Rewards in 2022. We started working with Scotty when he brought his company into Creative HQ’s 2023 Impact Accelerator. Scotty has an inspirational story about overcoming adversity and giving your all…
Founder Stories – Trent Mankelow
Investor, advisor, director – Trent’s done it all and Creative HQ has been there since the beginning. Optimal Usability Origins Trent and his co-founder Sam Ng met during their time together at Unisys back in the early 2000’s. Their respective…
Founder Stories – Tal Meser
Tal Meser always wanted to start a business. But he dropped out of University and found himself in debt and “living off noodles” when he came to Creative HQ and started working with us. After a couple of startup attempts,…
Founder Stories – Carlos Chambers
From Lab Tech in an accelerator to CEO of an accelerator company in 6 months, Carlos Chambers’ founder journey started off with a bang. Over the years, he learned a lot about leadership and went on to create and lead…
Startup World Cup New Zealand Final 2025
On 9 October 2025, Te Raukura ki Kāpiti hosted the New Zealand Final of the Startup World Cup for the first time, bringing a global stage to the Kāpiti Coast in partnership with Creative HQ. Twelve of Aotearoa’s most promising…
‘New Creative HQ programme backs bold Climate Tech founders’: The Aurora Climate Lab has kicked off with 15 impact-driven teams.
Wellington – 14 April 2025: Fifteen founders with bold new ideas on how to tackle the climate crisis are currently embarking on Creative HQ’s Aurora Climate Lab to supercharge their start-up journey. “Aurora Climate Lab is our fourth accelerator backing…
Startup World Cup New Zealand Final 2024
On 12 September 2024, Creative HQ hosted the New Zealand Final of the Startup World Cup, bringing together eleven of Aotearoa’s most promising early-stage tech ventures to compete for a place at the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley. Founders delivered…
Redefining sustainable construction: New Zealand’s first manufactured hemp binder set to revolutionise green building.
Wellington/Kerikeri – 8 June 2023: Hemp solutions to global building challenges around waste, carbon emissions and materials longevity are being unlocked by a new Aotearoa-first hemp binder, GEOBIND, developed by a local Kerikeri- based builder and an environmental enthusiast. Co-founders…
Wellington-based School of Innovation sees steady increase in people studying innovation following the Covid-19 pandemic
Wellington – 07 Mar 2023: The Wellington-based School of Innovation run by Creative HQ has seen a significant increase in people studying innovation in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet the steadily growing market demand, Creative HQ now…
Creative HQ hero video
Creative HQ is your place of innovation. We help people around the world transform their ideas into real-world solutions. How? By giving them the energy and skills to innovate. Whether you have a problem to solve in government, hunger for…
Wellington Innovation Hack puts Gen Z in the driving seat
Four household-named Wellington organisations have tasked a team of local Gen Z innovators to find solutions to some of their most pressing problems. This week, the participants will reveal their ideas. Creative HQ’s first-ever Wellington Innovation Hack connected a cohort…
An electric revolution that started in Wellington: FTN Motion
Clean, green New Zealand – it’s in our DNA. Kiwis are passionate about the environment and demand is rising for clean transport solutions. Wellington runs New Zealand’s original regular electric ferry schedule, was part of the world’s first electric flight…
“No rules, no recipe” – the Wellington startup that made investing accessible to over half a million Kiwis
“But what if I want to invest just $50?” Sharesies all started with a problem and a conversation between friends and colleagues. Now, over half a million Kiwis use their investment platform every day. We hear from Sharesies co-founder and…
The evolution of Wellington’s place of innovation: Creative HQ enters its 20th year with a brand new look
Wellington, 27 April 2022 Creative HQ was established in 2003 through Wellington’s economic development agency, at the time called Positively Wellington Business, and now known as WellingtonNZ. It was tasked with supporting the development of high-growth new businesses, with a…
Creative thinking set to be celebrated in the Capital at Mindset of Design Festival
Wellington – 12 April 2022 Creative thinkers, designers, innovators and entrepreneurs will be able to come together at the Capital’s annual design festival – Mindset of Design – from the 16th to the 20th of May as Omicron retreats from Wellington, and…
AI recycling solutions and Kiwi carbon capture technology: Startups come together to progress clever world-saving ideas at Creative HQ
Wellington – 23 March 2022 Carbon capture technology, AI recycling and ‘Xero for climate change‘ are just a few of the ten ingenious new startup innovations from around Aotearoa set to be supercharged in the virtual Climate Response Accelerator, a…
Tourism Design Accelerator
Who we worked with Tourism startups and organisations What we did together 12-months coaching through our Accelerator startup programme Key Skills Lean, Agile, Market validation Read more “Tourism Accelerator launches to help startup founders re-shape thetourism industry.” – Tourism Export…
GovTech Accelerator Case Study
Who we worked with Government agencies What we did together 13-week Accelerator Skills Co-design, Applied Innovation tools Read more “Westpac announces $375k over three years to solve NZ Inc issues through GovTech” – Stuff Since 2018, Creative HQ has run…
Pōneke Artist Intensive
Who we worked with Artists based in Wellington What we did together 3-month accelerator programme Skills Applied innovation tools After 12-weeks of running Ringatoi Pōneke Artist Intensive (PAI), we can confirm that innovation and arts are a great match. New Zealand’s…
Fledgling Kiwi startups dive into the world of tech as new Incubator programme kicks off at Creative HQ
Wellington – 18 November 2021: Ten startups from across the country are bringing their digital product ideas to life as they kick off the 2021 Incubator programme today at Creative HQ, Wellington’s innovation hub. This year’s Incubator cohort is loaded with…
Women in the Capital are raising capital
Wellington – November 2021: Wellington is bucking the trend with women currently making up the majority of founders participating in Creative HQ’s innovation and startup programmes at Wellington’s innovation hub. Nationwide women make up 17% of business founders. Further, women-founded or…
