Kiwi SMEs are using AI. Can AI find them?
More small businesses are putting AI to work. Far fewer know what it tells their customers, and the experts don’t agree on where to start.
More small businesses are putting AI to work. Far fewer know what it tells their customers, and the experts don’t agree on where to start.
Ministry of Awesome wants 5,000 high-growth start-ups in New Zealand. Its new Christchurch hub is where it starts building them.
I went to Las Vegas for SuiteWorld and AI World expecting big bets on AI. Behind the bright lights, the smartest ones turned out to be the least flashy.
A year after its Las Vegas debut, NetSuite’s biggest update in almost three decades is reaching Kiwi businesses. The more interesting question is who it might reach next.
Equity-free funding, global mentors and a US$10,000 prize are on the table – but the deadline is closing fast.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has argued that artificial intelligence presents New Zealand with more opportunities than threats. However, coming into the election, business leaders aren’t on the same page.
With India’s market growing fast, a two-day Auckland summit next month asks what it takes for Kiwi businesses to get a foothold.
Every party now has a pitch for small business. So why do so many of the people who work for themselves feel like they’re talking to an empty room?
Looking for new suppliers? Sri Lanka Expo 2027 is bringing 750+ exporters and 2,000 international buyers together in Colombo this January.
Spare capacity sitting idle? It could be paying for your next marketing campaign while your cash stays where you need it.
The uncertainty isn’t going anywhere. ScotPac’s Lindsay Fisher says the businesses that grow are the ones that stop waiting for it to.
In under two years, Dani Archer went from no clients to eight schools. Now the Tauranga sole trader has taken out the top prize at The David Awards 2026.
Growing past a handful of staff brings more customers, more systems and more revenue. New research suggests it also makes a business a bigger cyber target.
Many tradies and salon owners already spend money on marketing. The harder question is which of that spend actually brings in paying customers, and Thryv says its new platform can answer it.
Franz Josef’s West Coast Wildlife Centre has been named the West Coast’s top business for 2026, winning the Development West Coast Supreme Award at the Leading Light Business Excellence Awards.
Kiwibank’s General Manager of Business Banking Rod Morris tells NZBusiness, Kiwibank has stepped up to change the game for early-stage business founders with its new funding pathway, built to unlock opportunity and foster sustainable business growth.
Finalists are in, and with entries up nearly 50 percent on two years ago, The David Awards judges have never had a harder job.
Eric Clark, CEO of Manhattan Associates, believes complexity is becoming a permanent part of the operating environment. Clark discusses why that can create opportunity, what other industries can learn from retail, and how technology and AI can help businesses manage it.
Two years after leaving corporate life, Josh Burgisser built Burgs Digital into a full-stack marketing agency. He talks to David Nothling-Demmer about the attention economy, why video isn’t optional for small businesses showing up online, and convincing his own father to become a client.
Kiwi innovation meets smart marketing. Telescopicgoal is transforming the way football is played and trained around the world, all with a clever, adjustable aluminium goal and a creative, targeted approach to reaching customers.
More than 60 exhibitors, 75 speakers, leading franchise brands and 1,600 attendees are expected at Due Drop Events Centre this September.
Where are they now? Brolly Sheets Founder Diane Hurford on 20 years of bed-wetting, bandanas and building a business that stuck.
Some of New Zealand’s most influential science, business and policy figures will gather in Auckland next week to grapple with a question that has dogged the country for decades: How does New Zealand turn its ideas into lasting prosperity?
Leading a multi-national company takes guts, hard work and determination but without good governance, structure, and processes there is risk for shareholders – no matter how hard you work.
New Zealand’s leaders are shrinking their own ambitions in isolation. Revved Co-founder Rochelle Moffitt wants to put them in a room together instead.
Taupō’s The Cozy Corner isn’t just a café, it’s a community hub where inclusivity, wellness, and sustainability meet. With a menu that caters to every dietary need, a great team culture, and a commitment to values-driven business, owner Camilla Baker has built an eco-friendly café that sets the standard for hospitality with heart.
New Zealand small businesses are facing one of the biggest shifts in customer discovery since the rise of Google Search, as AI-powered tools change how consumers find, compare and choose who to hire.
More than 80 percent of people don’t independently verify AI-generated information. As AI becomes the first place customers go for answers, that trust is creating a new challenge for New Zealand businesses.
We’re told the economy and the environment are locked in a trade-off. Autex’s Jonathan Mountfort says that’s a false choice, and shows how circular thinking is already building a healthier version of both.
New Zealand research into scientist-entrepreneurs has identified an “IP paradox”: Intellectual property is seen as essential to start-up success, yet often experienced as a costly, complex barrier. Here’s what the findings mean for founders, investors and the wider SME community.
Over the past decade, there’s been a social push across Aotearoa New Zealand towards normalising the everyday use of Te Reo Māori, and with good reason. It’s an integral part of our cultural heritage, our national history, and, right now, it is in real danger of being lost. Significant, focused measures must be undertaken to keep it alive. For businesses, this means going beyond ‘tokenism’ or ‘window dressing’ and embracing the use of Te Reo Māori in everyday activities, transactions with customers and interactions between staff. For years, we’ve been greeted on Te Araraurangi-Air New Zealand flights in both English and Te Reo Māori. In recent times, many other NZ-based businesses and government organisations, too, have begun incorporating Te Reo
Darren Smith explains how eInvoicing saves businesses time, improves billing accuracy, and boosts both efficiency and security. When most business owners think of invoicing – extra admin, paperwork, and additional use of the team’s time may be the first points to mind. Add to this the chance of human error, the increasing prevalence of email scams, and having to chase late payments, and invoicing can be a major headache. While the process can be time-consuming – with MYOB’s research showing that one-in-five SMEs spend six hours or more on invoicing – billing for services or goods delivered is ultimately what brings in the revenue that keeps local businesses running. According to MBIE, around 280 million business-to-business invoices are exchanged on
Excellent, the New Zealand-founded platform spearheading the employee experience movement through learning, community and accreditation, has raised $2 million in its pre-seed round to further its expansion. Led by venture capital investor Blackbird the raise also included notable support from Icehouse Ventures, K1W1 (owned by Sir Stephen Tindall), and a number of leading founders and business leaders including Brooke and Leighton Roberts, co-founders and co-CEOs of Sharesies, and Justine Smyth CNZM, Chair at Spark NZ. Excellent’s purpose is to help business leaders and people managers come together with their employees to redefine what a modern workplace looks like — through the emerging discipline of Employee Experience (EX) Design. The Kiwi company is making it easy for organisations and leaders to co-design
New Zealand’s SMEs are primed to exercise their democratic rights over the coming weeks, with more than nine-in-10 surveyed saying they plan to vote in the upcoming local elections. While overall voter turnout in the 2019 local elections reached 42 percent, MYOB’s latest SME Snapshot – a survey of more than 570 SMEs across the country – found that 93 percent of SME owners and decision-makers plan to vote this year, with many recognising the influence local government has over the future of their community. More than a quarter of SMEs surveyed said they feel local government has significant decision-making power when it comes to ‘making big decisions and executing plans’ in their local area, while 41 percent agreed they had some power
The most significant and most exploited cybersecurity vulnerability of any New Zealand organisation is its people, usually, due to human error, apathy, ignorance or garden-variety laziness, a leading Auckland IT security expert is warning. Author of the book ‘She’ll Be Right (Not!)—a cybersecurity guide for Kiwi business owners and SMB cybersecurity expert Daniel Watson said fixing the human side of cybersecurity will require a bit more effort than buying a new software package. “However, the return on investment generated by training staff to be more observant, for example, can be much higher than even the best software. The most important lesson is that cybersecurity must be a team effort—for companies, industries and sectors. “Industry bodies and professional associations in New Zealand
From supply chain issues to chronic labour shortages and the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand small businesses have had a tough run with so much disruption in recent years. And now it seems the NZ small business sector, which generates more than 28% of GDP and employs more than 630,000 New Zealanders, will have to have to deal with customers tightening their purse strings as consumer confidence falls to its lowest reading ever recorded. Where a score above 100 shows more optimism, the Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index plummeted year-on-year from 107.1 to 78.7 points in July. With the growing pessimism around the economic landscape, conditions are shifting for business owners across the country. “New Zealand small businesses are at
Upcoming event
Wednesday 11 November 2026 | 7:00am – 9:30am
📍 New Zealand International Convention Centre, 101 Hobson Street, Auckland
One week after the election, Ready to Rise returns for ‘After the Result’ to help Kiwi SME owners plan ahead for their next bold move, and hard-won growth. Get your tickets for this must-attend business breakfast.
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The money’s out there, but getting it has rarely felt harder. Our October/November issue looks at who’s lending, what investors want and what rising rates mean for your next move. It also celebrates The David Awards 2026 winners, who backed themselves anyway.
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