The time is now
OPINION 24 May 2024 – If the annual Budget is something of a state-of-the-nation moment for Aotearoa New Zealand, it is timely to present a state-of-the-industry assessment for the tech startup sector. As I stood on stage recently at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards accepting the award for Best Contribution to the NZ Tech Sector on behalf of Creative HQ, I found myself looking across a 1,300-strong roomful of leaders and changemakers.
The atmosphere in that room was electric. Energy levels were high. And there was a huge amount to celebrate. It was difficult to have anything but optimism about the future of our economy. In that room were 1,300 people doing the work, making the change, and creating a positive impact for New Zealand right now.
Yes, there are obstacles and challenges and the tough environment in which we are all operating is keenly felt. But the tech sector is a resilient group who are succeeding nonetheless and will continue to find ways to solve problems, create jobs and attract investment to support the growth of their companies.
Is it easy? No. But is it happening? Yes.
But I think few Kiwis outside our tech sector truly realise its current value or how much potential it has to enrich our economy and how we live. At present, the industry contributes around $20 billion annually to New Zealand’s GDP, according to NZTech, and is the nation’s second-largest export sector.
It is rapidly closing in on first place. Tech has a huge role to play in job creation, attracting offshore investment, stimulating the local economy, lifting productivity, and expanding Aotearoa’s footprint and reputation on the global stage.
I’m confident that all of us, even those with no direct connections to tech or the startup sector, want to see these companies thrive. The question, then, is how we elevate our sector to the next level. Creative HQ is fortunate to have tremendous support from strong relationships across the public and private sector, and we have been able to demonstrate impact over a 20-year period.
It is critically important that the public and private sectors collaborating during these tough economic times to ensure that collectively, sectors such as ours have the connectivity, capital, capability, and culture to thrive.
In all corners of New Zealand are mentors, coaches, industry experts, funders and investors who can contribute to that – and make a better future for all New Zealanders.
Collaboration at its finest
An example of the ecosystem working in collaboration is our recent 2024 Climate Response Accelerator, a 12-week initiative crafted to assist ambitious founders and entrepreneurs from around New Zealand tackle some of the planet’s most urgent challenges. That programme is only possible because of the support of Callaghan Innovation, WellingtonNZ, Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, Ballance Agri Nutrients, and Motion Capital.
Motion Capital, which focuses on funding technology companies that help the world to decarbonise, partnered with us to help fund and deliver the programme and provide crucial mentorship as well as a $100,000 investment deal for one of the teams.
The roots of Motion Capital’s invaluable backing date to 2019 and the first Climate Accelerator, in which Lachlan Nixon, a founding partner of Motion Capital, participated as part of Cetogenix, the climate tech company working to transform organic waste streams to deliver renewable carbon resources.
In Lachlan’s words, the 2019 showcase day “proved to be a game-changer, culminating in a successful seed round for Cetogenix totalling $4.5 million, with contributions from many investors present at that event.”
We are now seeing Lachlan and many other founders and entrepreneurs who have come through Creative HQ, and advanced their enterprises to a more mature, at-scale stage, paying it forward and actively giving back to the next generation of emerging startups.
What is happening is terrific, and there is tremendous energy and momentum behind an array of world-leading ideas and startup founders – but to amplify the impact and create a self-supporting tech ecosystem that is at the forefront of the New Zealand economy, at the level (per capita) of Singapore, China, the United States, and elsewhere, we need support from the private sector; we need backing from philanthropists, corporates, sponsors, and other funders.
Opportunity ahead
Practically speaking, with more backing Creative HQ can stage more programmes that build on our track record of startup success stories. Some of that success is evident in the likes of the Climate Response Accelerator, with better environmental outcomes being created by the startups in the programme. Across the board, the industry is building high-growth, exportable, and ambitious companies that will create jobs and attract capital into New Zealand.
I know it’s a time of year when everyone is hopeful for an announcement which helps their mission – but our tech sector is a sector for everyone. It has a past to be proud of and its fingertips on the future.
Creating a sustainable ecosystem of scalable, investable startups that can work to solve massive collective problems will support a truly 21st-century New Zealand economy that has the resilience to overcome the tyranny of distance.
Opinion piece by
Catherine Jones
Chief Executive, Creative HQ
- Email Catherine Jones, Creative HQ Chief Executive to connect about opportunities.
- Read more Creative HQ’s impact in our 2024 Impact Report
