NEWS & ARTICLES
30
Jul
Jul
NZTech Update – GovTech export potential for New Zealand
Georgia Taylor 0 comments NZTech Newsletter
At Thursday’s NZTech AGM, it was a pleasure to host several members of the Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Ministerial Advisory Board who provided an update on their work. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of their strong focus on the role of Government procurement. Not only the $1.3 billion a year the Government spends on ICT, but how a more agile approach to most procurement may be the solution to a more adaptable country. While this Ministerial Advisory Group is very passionate about the potential, anyone who has been involved in trying to encourage the Government to change its approach to procurement knows this is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It’s not for lack of desire within the Government, it is a system wide cultural challenge.
27
Jul
Jul
NZTech reports phenomenal annual growth
Georgia Taylor 0 comments Media Release, NZTech News
NZTech, the national non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation for tech, has reported phenomenal growth of the New Zealand tech ecosystem in the last 12 months.
At last night’s annual meeting in Auckland, chair Mitchell Pham said NZTech now has an alliance of 20 tech communities and more than 800 organisations across the New Zealand technology landscape who collectively employ almost 10 percent of New Zealand workforce.
23
Jul
Jul
Kia Ora
This Thursday, we host NZTech’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). What is NZTech trying to achieve and how do we know if it is working? I was recently asked how I know if we’ve been successful? Given that much of the work we do is long term and often intangible, sometimes it is hard to be sure we are making a difference. However, when its collated in one place, you can certainly see the impact.
As I prepared our annual report I was amazed to see how much has been accomplished in the past few years. Eight years ago, the tech ecosystem was very fragmented. Now, NZTech supports and coordinates a network of 20 tech associations that represent over 800 organisations and about 10% of the workforce. This Alliance shares resources and experience to improve its efficiency and impact. During the last 12 months we have delivered more than 120 events, helping various tech communities connect and share experience. Together, we also produced six major summits, three detailed research reports and half a dozen briefing papers to help identify technology that can help improve New Zealand’s prosperity.
NZTech also partnered with Government on multiple initiatives in the past year including:
- supporting the introduction of the digital technology curricula in schools,
- developing the Upstarters campaign, an international positioning for New Zealand as a hi-tech nation,
- helping populate a digital platform to help our tech firms scale up and access capital,
- coordinating 540 tech and innovation events during Techweek, a week long festival throughout New Zealand to help inspire the next generation into tech and help our tech firms grow and export,
- analysing the countries current and future digital skills needs,
- and feeding into work on the trade agenda.
Ultimately, the measure of success is the contribution of technology to New Zealand’s prosperity. While the tech sector continues to grow, the real opportunity is the digital transformation of our traditional economy. Personally, I am confident that a tipping point has been reached as major agri-firms such as Fonterra, Farmlands and Gallagher Group recently combined with other agribusinesses and tech firms to create AgriTech New Zealand. I have always believed that our country’s future success lies in the beautiful blending of our traditional strengths of agriculture and technological innovation. All we needed was a bit of coordination to help agri meet tech. Let’s see what they can come up with.
Come along to this Thursday’s AGM to chat more about this, and meet the Minister’s Digital Economy and Digital Inclusion advisory team.
Ng? mihi
Graeme Muller
CEO
NZTech
CONNECT
Join the Tech Marketers Converse and Connect events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on 25 July. Save the date for Tech Marketers conference, 28 February 2019.
Join CanterburyTech on 7 August in Christchurch. Join NZSA on 14 August in Auckland for their annual An Angel at my Table pitch competition.
Attend The Impact of AI on Governance on 23 July in Christchurch. Join the AI Forum Connect Events on 24 July in Wellington, 7 August in Auckland and 8 August in Christchurch.
PROMOTE
Join TechWomen’s Edwina Mistry at the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Forum New Zealand, 27-29 August in Auckland. For a 10% discount use promo code: TW10.
FinTechNZ welcomes opportunities for free trade with the UK post-Brexit. Join FinTechNZ for their winter Connect Event series on 1 August in Auckland and 2 August Wellington.
Join EdTechNZ on 25 July in Wellington for The Future of Education is Now panel discussion. Christchurch based? Contact EdTechNZ if you would like to be invited to the next meetup.
ADVANCE
Applications for the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) four cohort close on 2 September, apply before 1 August for early bird pricing. The Flux Accelerator is also accepting applications.
Support New Zealand’s digital transformation by adopting TechLeaders Digital Principles. Read our Meet the TechLeader series, profiling Craig Columbus, David Godfrey, David Kennedy and Angela Nash.
Entries for the 2018 New Zealand Spatial Awards (NZSEA) close on Friday. Attend NZGDC18 in Auckland 1-3 August. Save the date for the New Zealand FinTech Summit 2018 on 29 November in Auckland.
Want to know more? Sign up for the NZTech weekly update, it’s free and will take less than a minute!
19
Jul
Jul
Potential to NZ fintech exports huge
Georgia Taylor 0 comments FinTech, Media Release
The potential for New Zealand tech exports will be huge when direct free trade post-Brexit opens with the United Kingdom, a leading fintech expert says.
James Brown, general manager of FintechNZ says it’s so encouraging to see the government working proactively to set up free trade with the UK post-Brexit.
“The UK is a very important market for our agricultural, food and beverage exports, as well as high-value manufactured products,” Brown says.
16
Jul
Jul
NZTech Update – Growing the tech sector
Georgia Taylor 0 comments NZTech Newsletter
Kia Ora
I hear the pending decision of New Zealand’s CTO is close, so all things going well, I expect we should learn of the appointment soon, as the Minister did promise to appoint by the beginning of August. Regardless of who is appointed, I’m looking forward to working with the new CTO, as the focus areas for the role – reducing the growing digital divide and growing the tech sector – are both highly important for NZTech and our members. Neither of these can be solved by just one person, so hopefully we find ourselves with an engaging and inclusive CTO to help lead the charge.
Tomorrow, I am in Wellington attending the Digital Skills Forum as we continue to gain momentum on the challenges of placing interns and preparing more work ready graduates for tech roles. The survey about internships closes tomorrow so please help us help you and share your thoughts about internships here. It’s quick and is taking on average, only three minutes to complete.
I’m looking forward to meeting our newly elected NZTech board members next week at our AGM. The AGM is always a great time to pause and reflect on the past years work. This morning, as I was finalising my presentation slides it was encouraging to see over 90 percent growth rate in representation. Please don’t forget to register to attend the AGM on 26 July in Auckland. Come along and meet the Digital Economy and Digital Inclusion Ministerial Advisory Group.
Ng? mihi
Graeme Muller
CEO
NZTech
CONNECT
Join FinTechNZ for their winter Connect Event series on 1 August in Auckland and 2 August Wellington. In the wake of global banking issues FinTechNZ’s James Brown calls for more transparency locally.
Join CanterburyTech on 7 August in Christchurch.
Join EdTechNZ on 25 July in Wellington for The Future of Education is Now panel discussion and a tour of Te Papa’s H?n?tore Learning Lab.
How should board directors be preparing for AI driven change? Attend The Impact of AI on Governance on 23 July in Christchurch. Join the AI Forum Connect Events on 24 July in Wellington, 7 August in Auckland and 8 August in Christchurch.
PROMOTE
NZSA is seeking expressions of interest for their annual An Angel at my Table five minute angel investor pitch competition. Entries close 20 July. The pitching event is 14 August in Auckland.
Did you miss the headline events at Techweek’18? Watch the presentations from the Fourth Revolution, Creative Realities, 10 Billion Mouths and more from Techweek TV here.
Meet the next wave of startups at Massey’s ecentre Innovation Showcase on 18 July in Auckland. Attend the ChristchurchNZ 2018 Hi-Growth Launch Programme on 24 July.
ADVANCE
Applications are open for the fourth cohort to join Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF). Applications close on 2 September, apply before 1 August for early bird pricing. The Flux Accelerator is also accepting applications for its third cohort.
TechWomen’s Edwina Mistry explains how the award winning ShadowTech programme helps girls consider tech jobs they didn’t know existed! Also, register your internship listing with Summer of Tech now.
Entries for the 2018 New Zealand Spatial Awards (NZSEA) close 27 July. Attend NZGDC18 in Auckland 1-3 August. Save the date for the New Zealand FinTech Summit 2018 on 29 November in Auckland.
Want to know more? Sign up for the NZTech weekly update, it’s free and will take less than a minute!
11
Jul
Jul
NZ fin services need to be even more transparent
Georgia Taylor 0 comments FinTech, Media Release, NZTech News
Now is the time for Kiwi financial services to be more transparent following banking issues in the United Kingdom and Australia, a leading New Zealand financial tech expert says.
Normally bank employees must meet sales incentive targets on lending, deposit attraction, payment protection insurance, life insurance and Kiwi Saver funds to achieve a financial bonus.
09
Jul
Jul
Kia Ora
Today I am at the Board meeting for AgriTech New Zealand. It is interesting times for the primary sector as they face unprecedented change.
The recent announcement by Air New Zealand that they are offering meat free burgers on flights has been a case study in missing the point. With politicians and meat industry bodies lobbying Air New Zealand to remove the burgers, it reminds me of other eras when incumbents thought they could halt change. This is best captured in the seminal book Innovators Dilemma by Harvard’s Clayton Christensen. The point they are missing is that Air New Zealand are responding to customers.
Meat substitutes might not conquer the world, but there is no denying that the technology is improving and demand is increasing. While meat substitutes are making headlines, the big opportunity for New Zealand is environmental. As food demand increases so does farming intensification, which is taking an enormous toll on our planet. By comparison, plant based meat alternatives use far less land, water and create less greenhouse emissions. As our agritech sector comes together I am optimistic that we can re-think the way we develop, seed, cultivate, and harvest food in New Zealand.
From Wednesday, I will be in Wellington at ITx, a collaboration of 12 tech-focused conferences, focused on innovation, technology and education. I hope to see you there.
One last reminder, if you have ever considered an intern, or even if you haven’t, please complete the Digital Skills Forum survey, so we can help improve the flow of talent into tech roles. The average time to complete the survey has been three minutes.
Ng? mihi
Graeme Muller
CEO
NZTech
PS: Don’t forget to register to attend our AGM on 26 July in Auckland.
CONNECT
Network with NZSA tomorrow in Auckland. Join the AI Forum on 24 July in Wellington, 7 August in Auckland and 8 August in Christchurch.
Join FinTechNZ next month in Auckland and Wellington. Also, save the date for the New Zealand FinTech Summit 2018 on 29 November in Auckland.
Join EdTechNZ on 25 July in Wellington for The Future of Education is Now panel discussion and a tour of Te Papa’s H?n?tore Learning Lab.
PROMOTE
Thank you to everyone who completed our recent membership survey. Your feedback helps us better understand your needs. Congratulations to Anthony McMahon! You are now the owner of a brand new HP ENVY laptop.
Register to attend Massey’s ecentre Innovation Showcase on 18 July in Auckland and meet the next wave of startups. Tickets are now available for NZGDC18 in Auckland 1-3 August.
Register to attend the 2018 AmCham DHL Express Success and Innovation Awards on 16 August in Auckland. Also attend Four Disciplines of Execution with Chris McChesney on 10 September in Auckland.
ADVANCE
Last week NZBio rebranded as BIOTechNZ and joined the New Zealand Tech Alliance. Launching this month, 100TechWomen, featuring a collection of inspiring stories from New Zealand’s brightest tech talent. Also, read how AI and IoT are changing the local dairy sector.
Help grow our tech talent pipeline. Register your internship listing with Summer of Tech before 31 July for maximum student attention. Don’t forget, the Digital Skills Forum wants to know how you work with digital tech interns. Please complete this quick survey before 15 July.
Entries for the 2018 New Zealand Spatial Awards (NZSEA) close 27 July. Finalists will be announced on 5 September. Register to attend the Awards Event on 17 October in Wellington. CERT’s Cyber Smart Week has been confirmed for 8-12 October and a small businesses campaign begins on 30 July.
Want to know more? Sign up for the NZTech weekly update, it’s free and will take less than a minute!
04
Jul
Jul
NZTech and NZBio combine tech forces
Jackie Clark 0 comments Media Release
New Zealand is beginning to witness unprecedented opportunities in areas of technology convergence as cutting-edge and world-first technology continues to accelerate and merge.
NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says New Zealand has a history of innovation in the biotech and biosciences areas, often driven by strong Kiwi foundations in the primary sectors.
02
Jul
Jul
NZTech Update – Igniting the future with digital readiness
Jackie Clark 0 comments NZTech News, NZTech Newsletter
02
Jul
Jul
AI and IoT changing the face of NZ dairying
Jackie Clark 0 comments Agritech, AI Forum, Media Release, NZ IoT Alliance
A fledgling New Zealand agritech company run by a rising Kiwi entrepreneur who has worked for Rocket Lab has raised $8 million, from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Data Collective, which is likely to result in massive changes to the nation’s burgeoning dairy industry.
