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.
Newmarket is preparing to celebrate its best businesses from across its precinct – with a wide range of enterprises among the finalists announced for the 2022 Newmarket Business Awards. The rigorous judging process whittled down entries to an elite group of finalists across 12 categories. The 2022 awards look to be the most competitive in the awards’ ten year history. The independent judging panel includes some of New Zealand’s most prominent business leaders and influencers. Among the line-up is Anne Norman (James Pascoe Group), Stewart Sherriff (Former CEO 2degrees), Anthony Hoy Fong (Celebrity Chef), Cameron Bagrie (Bagrie Economics), Kelly Bennett (One Plus One), Koro Dickinson (Poutama Trust), Elena Kim (PWC), Michelle Vogt (Mint Consulting), Wynnis Armour (Armour Consulting), and four expert mystery shopper judges.
A culture of compliance does not necessarily make a safety culture, as evidenced by the ongoing problem of workplace accidents – a local workplace health and safety provider is warning. Jason Braithwaite, the General Manager of New Zealand health and safety training provider Besafe Training, says permits and signs do not protect workers, but actual health and safety measures are often forgotten in the rush to complete the paperwor “We have a culture of paper health and safety, but proper measures like assessing risk, putting in place appropriate controls and ensuring they are enforced does not get the attention it deserves.” Braithwaite says that in 2022 there is a lot of data and information to help improve how work is performed and
Kiwi job seekers and employees are prioritising flexible working hours over any other benefits companies may be offering, according to a new report. In Frog Recruitment’s 2022 Employment and Salary Trend report more than 1,000 job seekers and employees were asked what matters most to them in terms of salary packages, flexibility, learning and development and other benefits like bonuses. The results were equally in favour of flexible work hours and the ability to work remotely , while career development and training, bonuses and company-paid training rounded out the top five. Frog Recruitment 2022 Employment and Salary Trends Report: Top Ten employee benefits 1. Flexible work hours
Business and marketing strategist Judy Celmins explains the seven stages that can develop the heart of your business and grow it. If blood flow is restricted to your heart, you’re straight off to the specialist – it needs urgent attention to keep you alive! Your business heart is no different, and a timely diagnosis can be a life-saver. Especially as we navigate the tough times. Essential Fuel: First, you have to understand what’s driving the heart of your business. And the easiest way to identify that is to ask yourself, what can’t the business do without? And I’m pretty confident most of us would agree it’s customers. You can always find a new product or service to satisfy your customers, but
Franz Josef-based Waiho Hot Tubs took out the Supreme Award at the 2022 Development West Coast Leading Light Business Excellence Awards, held at Shantytown on Friday May 20th. Adam Haugh’s business also took out top honours for the Greymouth Star Rising Star Award. The creation of Waiho Hot Tubs was a response to COVID-19. With two other businesses in Franz Josef, having to batten down the hatches during the first lockdown was tough and could have been a very negative journey for Adam. He took the brave decision to start something new and something that would support other struggling businesses, not just his own. “Franz Josef’s isolation creates a special community spirit and strong interdependence between businesses. We need each
If you’re a Kiwi business owner, you’re be glad to see the end of the past two Covid-ravaged financial years. This stress-busting wellness guide can assist you in recharging and refocusing. I take my hat off to New Zealand’s business owners. Collectively, and individually, in recent times they have navigated and endured the trickiest of economic waters. Sadly, for many, Covid’s fallout has forced them to walk away from their livelihood. Others battled on through multiple disruptions. It has not been easy. A terrible personal toll has been extracted. Business coach Leone Evans, a mentor with Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ) since 2012, says small business owners especially have been hit hardest. “Not only have they taken the brunt of
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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