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2021 is drawing to a close and once again we saw a range of stories showing that despite a second year of challenging times for businesses nationwide, entrepreneurship and innovation is alive and well in Aotearoa. Below we present our Editor’s Picks for 2021 – a selection of ten stories from our annual innovation series […]

A medical technology company says it could save New Zealand’s health system $100 million each year by stopping 1700 tonnes of medical waste going to landfills. Christchurch-based startup Medsalv has come up with processes for remanufacturing single-use medical devices so they can be safely reused. Single-use device remanufacturing is the practice of taking medical devices […]

A Queenstown businesswoman has designed and launched an online programme, available globally, to help people self-design their career pathway. Start Now started small in 2015, but has now drawn interest from people in several countries. Its purpose is to help people and businesses create more meaningful and sustainable work. Founder Melissa Jenner says Start Now’s […]

Online thrift and consignment store & Again was created during lockdown when founder, Wendy Quach, returned home from London and wanted to find a solution to her clothes hoarding problem. “I’m super lazy when it comes to clearing out my wardrobe! I hoard way too much and promise myself I’ll sell it online later, but I never […]

A former New Zealand triathlon representative has developed an electronic system to address the sport’s biggest problem, drafting. Drafting occurs during the cycling portion of a triathlon when a rider moves into an area of low pressure behind another participant, reducing the wind resistance and the amount of energy required to pedal. The problem was […]

Women will start, shape, and build the future of Aotearoa industry, but change needs to come faster. That’s the rallying call for Electrify Aotearoa, an all-day national conference taking place in Christchurch, February 17. Spearheaded by Ministry of Awesome and Blackbird Ventures, the event brings together Aotearoa’s leading founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage startups for […]

Five inspirational female entrepreneurs will pitch their business to a high-profile judging panel and online audience on 23 November 2021 as they vie to win $10,000. Run by Hamilton-based business growth ecosystem, Soda, Rise Up aims to encourage, support and celebrate female entrepreneurship in Aotearoa. “Women are heavily underrepresented in entrepreneur statistics – only 20 […]

Damon Kelly is the founder of Enlighten Designs, a Hamilton based tech company finding success in national and global projects. We asked him what advice he has for other entrepreneurs considering looking for markets abroad, his top recommended skills for founders to develop, and navigating the challenges of business in times of turmoil. NZ Entrepreneur: […]

One of the country’s leading-edge engineering firms is working with university students to enable graduate engineers to complete Masters’ degrees while undertaking projects in a real-world environment. Nelson-based Trinder Engineering was formerly an engineering business set up in 1958 by local blacksmith Allan (Jock) Trinder. It has since grown to a company of more than […]

Nelson and Marlborough-based film producers are about to release their first feature film next year and look set to have a world-wide distribution deal with a world premiere set to happen in Marlborough and Nelson in 2022. In 2019 Justin Eade and Aaron Falvey founded Northspur Films Limited as a holding company for the film, […]

A social worker who moved from Germany to Westport in 2015 is combining her love of surfing with her career in social work through a social enterprise called Wavewise, which supports community wellbeing. Pana Leontiadu founded the charitable trust in 2018 to provide surf therapy, which is a structured approach to surfing that can achieve […]

Christchurch vegan food company Berkano Foods is about to roll out a new and distinctive range of alternative meat proteins, making the most of hard-won distribution deals with New Zealand’s top supermarket chains. It was a difficult battle for the first few years of the startup though, as the millennial founders of Berkano invested $30,000 […]