Growing SMEs are more exposed to cyber-attacks, NCSC research finds
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.
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.
Finding the right funding for any business is never easy, but if you are the founder of an early-stage business pursuing a new, or perhaps untested, market the challenges are particularly complex. But, as 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.
AI is having its “peak hype” moment, but beneath the noise there is a very practical question most New Zealand business owners are asking: Will this actually help my business run better, or is it just another shiny tech distraction?
Most of the AI conversation right now is about what the technology will eventually do for everyone. Not much of it covers what you should actually start doing, this week, to make sure your business can use any of it. Let’s change that.
Keynote speaker, educator, author, recording artist and Solo Meo Award winner Julia Grace, has turned her mental health journey into inspiring talks, workshops, and performances across New Zealand and beyond. She’s also made a success of being an entrepreneur in the process.
Setting a big, bold goal feels like strategy. It isn’t. Ryan Sproull explains why picturing success can actually work against you, and what to do instead.
After a punishing economic cycle Kiwi businesses are emerging into something of a stabilisation period. Cautiously optimistic, past the worst, but with operating costs still biting and reinvestment held back. Why the next six months will define the recovery, and what business owners need to be doing in that period.
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.
Australia’s online payments provider Pin Payments has recently expanded its offering to New Zealand SMBs. The strategic expansion comes less than two years after the Melbourne-based startup was acquired by global payments unicorn Checkout.com, which recently reached a $40 billion valuation. Pin Payments, which supports Aussie brands like PetRescue, Fig & Bloom, Finders Keepers and Obee, will now be able to provide the New Zealand small to medium business market with an online payments service that is quick to onboard. Chris Dahl (pictured), Co-CEO of Pin Payments, said New Zealand was the perfect location for the fintech’s expansion given it’s the natural stepping stone for many Australian businesses looking to grow overseas. “Banks in New Zealand can be somewhat risk-averse
Auckland Council recently celebrated its ongoing partnership with Papatoetoe-based charity and social enterprise Will&Able with an event at Auckland House. Will&Able, which provides cleaning products for Auckland Council’s offices, kitchens and cafeterias, is a charity dedicated to employing people with disabilities, who struggle to find permanent, fully paid employment elsewhere. Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the partnership will provide employment and livelihoods to people who might otherwise be excluded from the labour market. “Auckland Council’s support for Will&Able is part of our broader social procurement programme, which enables us to support wider social, economic, cultural, and environmental outcomes that go beyond the immediate purchase of goods and services, to generate positive outcomes and improve quality of life for our
A new report has identified four key ways to expedite New Zealand’s progress towards an efficient circular economy. The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and Grant Thornton New Zealand have released their joint report into the barriers New Zealand’s current financial system creates for meaningful progress towards a low carbon circular economy. The Circular Revolution backs the movement towards a circular economy in Aotearoa. However, their research reveals a lack of incentives for businesses to switch to more sustainable circular business models, and how our financial systems help perpetuate the country’s current linear economy. James Griffin, General Manager, Projects and Advisory at SBN explains: “The vast majority of businesses operate on a linear basis with a take, make, waste mindset. We take
Leanne Berry shares some steps for leading change management in your business, and it goes beyond digitisation. The operating environment for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) is in a constant state of change. From global pandemics, environmental disasters, and now rising inflationary pressures to name a few, the business community has had to move from one set of challenges to the next without much time to catch a breath. The one constant in all of this? Change. Business adaptability is essential to keep up with the changing world. However, it’s not just a one-time thing. Sue Inkersell, Managing Director at 3rd Arm Admin, was on a Change Management panel I hosted at Bookkeepcon22 in Christchurch and suggested we should approach
Southland’s Auld Farm Distillery took out the Innovation Award at the inaugural 2022 Arable Awards, recognising the best grain growers in New Zealand. Hosted by Federated Farmers, the awards recognised some of the best food producers in the country and Auld’s win cements the distillery as one to watch. Auld Farm Distillery produces single malt whisky made from nine different grains grown on the farm – from the traditional barley, wheat and oats, to purple wheat, black oats and black barley. The land has been growing grain since 1883 and is owned and run by Rob and Toni Auld (pictured below), third generation farmers on the land. By combining grain from the paddocks, pure water from their own spring and
Tech exports now make up New Zealand’s second biggest export sector. Graeme Muller highlights a remarkable success story. Covid’s long tail continues to wreak havoc on the tourism sector, while at the same time super charging New Zealand tech exports. In the first half of 2021 New Zealand’s tech exports exceeded tourism, meat, wood and fruit exports to become the second largest export sector behind dairy. Massive growth in global demand for technology solutions is being driven by multiple factors. As people around the world stayed at home during the Covid-driven lockdowns demand for interactive media and online games delivered $276 million in new revenue and 222 new jobs across the Aotearoa game development sector in 2021. However, while Kiwi
Upcoming event
Thursday 8 October 2026 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
📍 GridAKL, 101, Pakenham Street West, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
The David Awards 2026 winners are revealed live at GridAKL on 8 October, followed by a panel on building small businesses that punch above their weight. Finalist or not, get your free ticket to this informative and celebratory event.
Latest issue
Practical AI insights, Kiwi tech innovators, and the tools helping Kiwi SMEs compete on a global stage. It’s all packed into this special tech issue of NZBusiness.
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