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.
Grant Thornton New Zealand’s latest NFP research paints a picture of an agile industry, but also indicates a breaking point is on the horizon for many organisations. Barry Baker, Partner and Co-Leader of Not for Profit services at Grant Thornton says, “The report clearly demonstrates the great work the sector has done over the last few years in creating more robust and financially secure organisations, but it also uncovers some major gaps that will ultimately prevent many from delivering on their purpose”. Not for Profit organisations have seen a raft of legislative changes in recent years, with more to come. “Engagement with, and understanding of certain legislative changes has been unexpectedly low,” says Baker. “For example, nearly a quarter of
Malaysia is a diverse and emerging market full of potential. This INCITE guide is intended for food and drink brands looking for export led growth in Malaysia. Malaysia offers significant export led growth opportunities for food and drink brands, a cosmopolitan Southeast Asian nation with a population of 32 million. Known for its diversity, Malaysia is made up of three main ethnicities; Malay (67.4%), Chinese-Malays (24.6%), Indians-Malays (7.3%) and Others (0.7%). This blend of cultures has led to Malaysia having the one of the most diverse cuisines available in the region. Indeed, food is at the centre of the Malaysian culture. So much so that Malaysians tend to greet people by asking ‘Have you eaten?’ rather than the traditional “Hello”. Malaysia’s rich
Structural and civil engineering firm Batchelar McDougall Consulting took out the top award at the recent Ignite Wānaka Business Excellence Awards. The local firm was acknowledged for its impressive company growth, strong customer relationships and R&D investment and its focus on staff and robust governance at the Awards, run by Ignite Wānaka Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Milford Asset Management. Batchelar McDougall also won the Outstanding in Professional Services category. WAI Wānaka chair and Criffel Station co-owner Mandy Bell was awarded the Outstanding Individual award (sponsored by Cardrona Alpine Resort). More than 200 people attended the awards gala dinner, which took place at Rippon Hall. Winners were selected by an independent panel of local judges: Wayne Hudson (convenor), Ann
Half of New Zealand’s SMEs report multiple digital solutions are hindering, not helping, business. A new MYOB survey has revealed that businesses are wasting $334m annually on unused digital tools. New Zealand’s small and medium sized enterprises are collectively investing half a billion dollars ($501m) each year on digital solutions to help improve business operations. However, half of these businesses are finding some of these tools are in fact hindering them, according to new research from business management platform, MYOB. In a survey of more than 500 New Zealand SMEs, half say they are currently experiencing ‘bad digitisation’ – where some of their business management software apps and tools are running in silos, rather than seamlessly integrating with each other. The research
Education Perfect is a Kiwi global education company that has experienced impressive growth in 2021/22. Its CEO Alex Burke shares the top five fundamentals driving that growth. Over the past two years Education Perfect has employed an additional 100 people across 12 countries and expanded its service offering into a further 38 countries, bringing the total to 80. In mid-2021 it completed a successful investment deal, with global firm KKR taking a majority stake in the company, to the value of more than NZ$450 million. While many tech companies were handed a ‘blessing in disguise’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which sped up the world-wide digital revolution. More people are spending time online working, learning, socialising and transacting.
Want to build relationships with your ideal international clients? Cynthia Dearin has four steps that will help get you started.
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.
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