New data from Employment Hero shows New Zealand’s small and medium business sector continuing to add headcount in May, even as wage growth stalled completely on an annual basis, highlighting a labour market where businesses are growing cautiously rather than competing hard for talent on pay.
Turning a dreaded parenting challenge into a science-powered solution, ISpy Nits is making head lice detection accurate, stigma-free, and even fun for kids, and in the process earning Kate Ricketts a well-deserved David Award.
After burnout and a corporate career, Nikki Taylor started her own business at 44, and discovered that midlife isn’t a crisis, but a chance for clarity, on what kind of work, and life, actually fits.
New Zealand’s productivity gap with countries like Finland isn’t about effort, it’s about clarity. Elliot Royce argues that as businesses grow, complexity quietly crowds out a shared understanding of what actually creates value, turning productivity into a symptom rather than the real problem.
A pilot programme’s runaway demand has exposed just how many promising New Zealand startups are being turned away by traditional bank lending.
New Zealand’s sustainable innovators remain confident about growth, but a new report shows many are struggling to access the capital and conditions needed to actually scale.
New Zealand’s small business productivity has flatlined, with the country continuing to trail Australia and the UK, even as Deloitte’s latest CFO survey shows finance leaders remain confident about growing their businesses despite economic uncertainty.
Solar retailer Lodestone Energy is opening up its “virtual rooftop” solar product to residential and small business customers for the first time, choosing Hawke’s Bay as the launch region for its new EASY Plan.
New Zealand tourism businesses are committed to becoming more sustainable, but new research shows the journey from good intentions to genuine change is anything but straightforward.
Spacebar Design won Most Innovative Business at The David Awards 2025, also taking out the Supreme Award, recognition that cements its role as a trailblazer in sustainable interior design.
New Zealand’s longest-running sustainability awards programme is calling for entries, with expanded categories and a direct pathway to a global million-pound prize.
Kiwibank has become the first New Zealand bank to roll out open banking across all its digital channels for both individual and business customers, delivering most of the data‑sharing capability required by regulators six months ahead of its statutory deadline.
Christchurch’s Tait Communications has been named PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Awards, capping a record-breaking night for New Zealand’s third-largest export sector.
Full-scale loyalty programmes are expensive, complex and slow to roll out, but a gift card programme can deliver many of the same benefits in a fraction of the time, and customers pay you upfront for the privilege.
Inside MOXX Brands, the Kiwi FMCG company growing at 512 percent and rewriting the export playbook in the process.
Hawke’s Bay’s Rockit has landed one of China’s most bankable celebrities as its brand ambassador.
Demand for Tapuwae Roa’s Tupu Accelerator keeps climbing, with a new cohort of ten high-growth Māori-founded ventures welcomed for the programme’s third consecutive year.
A new Christchurch start-up wants to turn the security cameras already watching your warehouse into a real-time safety system that spots risk before it becomes an incident.
As New Zealand businesses face mounting productivity pressure, new research from 2degrees shows AI is already delivering measurable gains for SMEs. From streamlining operations to unlocking new growth opportunities, the challenge now is turning early experimentation into lasting business impact.
Acron Plastics, a New Zealand thermoforming manufacturer, had been running as a fully paper-based business before adopting MRPeasy. We sat down with Business & Sales Manager Mark Wong to see how the company uses the system to structure orders, manage purchasing and inventory, and reduce the risk of missed jobs.
West Auckland’s Waitākere College has officially opened a new School of Business, founded and seeded by Just Life Group CEO Tony Falkenstein CNZM, with the goal of producing the country’s next wave of entrepreneurs from communities that have historically been overlooked by corporate New Zealand.
As AI rapidly shifts from experimentation to operational reality, AI start-up founder Dave Howden says the businesses that move first – and rethink how work gets done – will hold the advantage.
A new national productivity programme is aiming to back more than 4,000 Kiwi SMEs into AI adoption. But the most useful lesson for business owners, says ASB’s Ben Speedy, may be the simplest: Think small first.
Three decades behind the counter taught pharmacist turned entrepreneur Tim O’Donoghue that patients know exactly what they want. They just rarely get it. Now, with an FDA-listed product live on Amazon and a 14-strong self-care platform behind it, the Healthtex Co-founder is raising capital through PledgeMe and inviting Kiwi investors into a corner of the global pharmaceutical industry usually reserved for big backers.
Digital and AI experts will share practical strategies to help businesses stay visible and competitive as AI transforms online search and customer behaviour.
A former delivery driver who started at HELL Pizza straight out of school has become one of the brand’s youngest franchise owners, taking over the Kāpiti store at just 21 years old.
Satisfaction among SMEs with the Coalition Government has declined for the second consecutive year, according to new research from MYOB.
Entries are now open for the 2026 David Awards, with this year marking a new chapter for the long-running small business awards programme as NZBusiness steps into the role of Official Steward.
When consumers start watching every dollar, many businesses reach for familiar tactics: Bigger discounts, louder promotions and more urgent calls to buy.
As New Zealand businesses enter a new financial year, the economic outlook remains mixed.
Samantha Gadd offers some advice on retaining employees in difficult times. There is no doubt the state of our economy and global headlines are top of mind for every business owner and leader. We are nervous about cost increases, reduced market confidence and rethinking our business strategies to ensure acceptable results in 2022/23. Employees are also nervous. The cost-of-living crisis is impacting every single New Zealander and unfortunately, I don’t think any business is immune from these challenges. A huge risk and cost for most employers is employee turnover. In this environment, we need to do whatever it takes to reduce this risk, and hang onto our people. Here are my tips for employee retention. Ensure your EVP (employee
Now is the time to start learning about Web3. Richard Conway explains what it means for you and your business. One thing that is hugely important to me as a business owner is to understand and utilise new technology in order to evolve our product offering and maintain a competitive advantage. It is for this reason that I recently started a new business in the Web3 space called Toru Creative, alongside Wendy Thompson, the founder of Socialites, and Omer Hazar (Web3 maven). Since we have launched the business, I have realised how many people have no idea what Web3, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or DOAs (decentralized autonomous organisations) even are. Therefore, I have put together a brief summary of some of
Looking to boost the results performance of your salespeople? Logan Wedgwood identifies self-management and technology adoption as the key to success. Why is it that some salespeople seemingly have all the natural capability they could ask for, but lack the performance to bring results? Often, the answer is much simpler than assumed. It comes down to personal daily structure, sometimes referred to as ‘self-management’. It’s about how an individual sets themselves up for success every single day. And there’s no excuse for it, really. There are free or cost-effective tools all over the Internet to help with this. As an example, some of the areas one could explore include: A morning routine that sets one up well for the day.
Jo Douglas explains what one significant change to the Privacy Act means to the cross-border exchange of information on employees. As an employer, you will likely be involved in collecting personal information about those who work for you. This process of information gathering commonly starts at the interview stage and will carry on throughout the employment relationship. Information you hold about staff must be protected, and safeguards put in place to make sure that you manage the use and disclosure of that information only as necessary for a legitimate and lawful business purpose. With the common use of cloud-based services for processing information and centralised administrative processes for larger companies, it is possible that information may be transferred beyond
Mat Wylie explains how instilling a culture of customer retention and great experiences both empowers your team and boosts profits. There are few things more powerful to your business than delivering an exceptional experience and keeping your customers coming back. In fact, data from Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company shows that increasing customer retention rates by just five percent can increase profits by up to 95 percent. That’s a solid foundation to get through leaner times, get an edge over competitors, and invest more back into your business. Having received and analysed more than six million pieces of feedback for our clients at Customer Radar, we know that it’s the customer experience that makes or breaks a business’s ability
A new support service has been launched to help Kiwi business owners get the tools and support they need to thrive. Small Business NZ (SBNZ) is an online platform launched recently that aims to provide community, connection and resources for small and micro businesses across the country. Because, let’s face it, running a business is hard. Often small business owners feel isolated, left trying to figure it all out alone. Despite the difficulties, New Zealand is a proud nation of small and micro business owners. Defined as a business with fewer than 20 employees, there are approximately 530,000 small businesses in Aotearoa, according to Statistics New Zealand and MBIE. This means small businesses make up 97 percent of all companies
Upcoming event
Thursday 30 July 2026 | 7:00am – 9:00pm
📍 Covert Theatre, 51 Mackelvie Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland
Everyone talks about the importance of business strategy, but what does it actually mean in practice? Strategy trainer Ryan Sproull cuts through the jargon to give SME owners a clear, practical framework for thinking strategically about their business.
Latest issue
Read the March issue of NZBusiness, focused on intentional growth — with practical insights, expert perspectives, and real-world stories.
Latest articles
