GovTech Activate
A pre-accelerator for early-stage founders building technology that solves a public problem
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Government needs problem solvers. Could that be you?
There’s no shortage of challenges and opportunities to make Aotearoa better – the hard part is getting the right people onto them.
GovTech Activate is a 10-week pre-accelerator for founders building technology that solves a public sector problem. Whether your idea is a sketch on a whiteboard or an early prototype, this is where you find out if it holds up.
You’ll combine learning with doing: problem definition, customer discovery, rapid prototyping, and getting your head around procurement, pitching, and what it actually takes to sell into the public sector. Along the way, you’ll hear directly from people inside agencies, councils and the wider public sector – the ones who know how decisions really get made.
If you’ve got an idea that could make government work better, or help it deliver on something it’s accountable for, this is your ten weeks to test it properly.
Delivered in partnership with Atlas Digital.
Key dates
2 September: Applications close
October – November 2026: Programme runs
Early December 2026 – Final presentation to pitch your solutions
The workshops, events, and founder interactions recalibrated how I thought about progress. Resilience is easier when the pace of building is shared and understood – and that’s part of the experience with Creative HQ.
Govtech founder: Annie Kim of Airie
GovTech Activate is your launchpad
Government is New Zealand’s largest technology buyer – and its most under-served market for new ideas.
Over the next five years, the public sector is forecast to spend around $13 billion on technology. It’s being asked to do more with less, modernise the services people rely on every day, and adopt AI safely and fast. There are thousands of problems out there that no single agency has the time or capacity to solve alone.
That’s a gap founders can fill, and right now is the moment to step into it.
GovTech Activate is your way in. With a hybrid format and flexible online sessions, you can take part from anywhere in Aotearoa – no matter where your idea is starting from.
Who this is for?
We are looking for founders at the earliest stages, from a well-formed idea through to an early prototype.
You’re a good fit if you:
- Have an idea, concept or early prototype that solves a public sector problem.
- Are a solo founder or a small team.
- Are based in New Zealand.
- Are pre-revenue or early revenue.
- Have some direct connection to, or credible insight into, the problem you want to solve.
- Are willing to talk to real users, front-line staff and public servants and change your mind based on what you hear.
- Can commit the time each week for 10+ hours per fortnight:
- 3 hours structured sessions.
- 7 hours independent work.
We particularly want to hear from:
- Founders with lived experience of the problem.
- Teams that pair delivery skill with genuine domain knowledge.
- Former or current public servants who have seen a problem and haven’t been able to solve it from the inside.
- Māori and Pasifika founders.
- Wāhine and non-binary founders.
- Founders working on problems outside the main centres, including regional, rural and community-scale challenges.
Here’s what you’ll get
1. Build for free. No cost, no equity taken.
2. Learn the fundamentals of turning an idea into a business — problem definition, customer discovery, business modelling and pricing.
3. Understand government as a market, procurement pathways, budget cycles, who holds the pen and what “government-ready” really means.
4. Validate before you build, through structured customer discovery with real public sector stakeholders.
5. Get in the room with public servants, procurement specialists, agency innovators and founders who’ve sold into government.
6. Join a cohort of GovTech founders, plus Creative HQ’s wider network of mentors, coaches and alumni.
7. Pitch your idea in December to an audience of potential supporters of your new startup.
8. Leave knowing your next step — whether that’s push on, pivot, pause and what you’d need for an accelerator, first contract or early-stage funding.
Hear from our partner, Ryan from Atlas Digital, about why we’re so excited in 2026 about GovTech!
This is for startups
Not the GovTech Accelerator you might remember.
Since 2018, Creative HQ has run the GovTech Accelerator: a programme that took teams of public servants through 13 weeks of innovation methodology to fast-track projects inside their agencies.
50+ projects, 200-plus participants, and solutions like the Department of Conservation’s Smart Weed Alert Tool.
GovTech Activate is different. This programme is for founders and startups, not agency project teams. You do not need to work in government. You do not need a government sponsor. You need an idea for a business that solves a problem government cares about.
If you are a public servant with a project you want to accelerate inside your agency, talk to us about our public sector innovation work instead.
Learn more with our Govtech stories
Day 1: From public sector to startup founder. Op-ed by Annie Kim, Founder at Airie.
What is Govtech and why is it more important – and practical – than ever?
The VERI-Mi story: Empowering and protecting migrant workers
FAQ’s
What is GovTech Activate, and who’s it for?
GovTech means technology that helps government work better, or delivers an outcome government’s responsible for. Activate is a startup programme (not for public servants inside agencies) for founders at idea through early-prototype stage. No agency sponsor or registered company needed, solo founders welcome. You don’t need prior startup experience, a technical co-founder, a working product, existing government contacts or any funding – just an idea worth testing.
Do I need a government customer already?
No. Most participants won’t have one yet – part of the programme is figuring out if government is your buyer, and which part. If you’re delivering an outcome the government’s accountable for, even if someone else pays you, this is for you.
What’s the time and cost commitment?
Free – no equity or IP taken (although budget for AI tools helps). Around 10 hours a fortnight: 3 hours of structured sessions in business hours, 7 hours your own work. Evenings and weekends work fine alongside a full-time job, though some daytime is needed for stakeholder interviews.
Do I need to be in Wellington, or even New Zealand?
NZ-based only, but not necessarily Wellington – weekly sessions run online from anywhere in Aotearoa. You’ll need to be in-person for kick-off and final presentation.
Does my solution have to be software, and are non-traditional orgs eligible?
No – services, hardware, new delivery models and process innovation all count, as long as tech plays a meaningful role. NGOs, social enterprises, iwi entities and community organisations are welcome too.
What do I get out of it – and is a contract guaranteed?
You keep 100% of your IP. We don’t guarantee introductions or contracts, but help you find the right people and become genuinely easy to buy from. Afterwards, you’re part of Creative HQ’s alumni network, with pathways into accelerators, funding or your first pilot.
Jonnie Haddon
GM Government innovation
When teams deliver tangible value inside existing systems, resistance drops, momentum builds and meaningful change becomes possible.
Not sure where to start?