It has been three weeks since the Digital Trust Hui Taumata at Te Papa Tongarewa and yet it still resonates with many delegates, judging by feedback I continue to receive. It’s a clear indicator of a great event that Digital Identity NZ and NZTech worked hard to bring to the community, overcoming the significant challenges of the time. 

This month was another great month for our biotech companies. BioTechNZ ran a very successful workshop in Wellington last week - Accelerating Crop Bioprotectant Development from New Zealand - with 50+ people in attendance. As well, the BioTechNZ Executive Council has been out and about talking to Government ministers about the role of biotech in New Zealand (traditional to modern biotech). 

A serious encounter with Ménière’s disease partway through his PhD studies was a life-changing event in more ways than one for Arash Tayebi.

Media Design School has received the accolade of having Prickly Jam, a film made in collaboration with students at Media Design School, screened at the world famous Comic-Con International: San Diego on Saturday 23 July.

Tak Suzuki is the co-founder of Senkusha, a funding platform looking to support and grow emerging artists, musicians, and athletes through NFT sales. Tak is soon to be a physiology graduate from the University of Auckland, he loves experimenting with new tech, and has an impressive CV at a young age. In this conversation we talk about: Music labels and the motivation for a crowdfunding platform, NFTs, mp3s, transparency, and minting on Ethereum, and the upcoming launch with artist Ash Supé.

BNZ are excited to launch BNZ Project Scale Up for technology industries businesses with $5.0m or more turnover.

The Deloitte Fast 50 ranks and celebrates fast growing Kiwi companies, recognising those businesses who have turned obstacles into opportunities for growth.

Kiwi innovators CropX’s Bridgit Hawkins, SnapIT’s Chris Rodley and Gallagher’s Lisbeth Jacobs explain how they’re growing great agritech businesses.  View now.

Jit Maharaj is a former commercial pilot turned crypto co-founder of Pay it Now, a payments network that uses a custom layer 2 built on the Binance smart chain (now BNB) that makes it easy for merchants and businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments. Jit is also a long time web developer, an Ethereum miner, and a Solana critic. In this conversation we talk about: payments networks and providers, building on the Binance smart chain, customer rewards programs and creating a token, regulation in the crypto space in New Zealand, $20k bitcoin, and being a pilot.