Pictured above: Icehouse partners with Mark Laurence to launch its A.icehouse programme.
New Zealand’s SMEs risk falling behind in the global AI race, but Icehouse CEO Olivia Blaylock says with the right strategy, literacy, and leadership, they can seize the opportunity to grow smarter and faster.
This month, more than 100 business leaders joined Icehouse’s first AI training webinar. Their feedback confirmed what many of us already know: New Zealand’s SMEs are lagging behind other countries in both strategic AI adoption and a national framework to guide the process.
That gap matters but it’s not too late to close it. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the New Zealand economy, employing nearly a third of the workforce and contributing over a quarter of our GDP. If they’re not keeping pace with global advances in artificial intelligence, New Zealand as a whole risks being left behind.
At Icehouse, we’ve spent 25 years helping SMEs build capability, resilience, and confidence to grow. We know transformation doesn’t happen overnight, it requires leadership alignment, cultural change, and practical skills. That’s why this month we launched A.icehouse, a pioneering programme designed to give SMEs the literacy, strategy, and hands-on expertise to integrate AI across their business.
We’ve partnered with Ten Past Tomorrow, founded by Silicon Valley-trained futurist Mark Laurence, who has worked across industries from construction to education, showing how AI can reshape workflows and boost productivity. As Mark says, AI isn’t a technology challenge, it’s a leadership challenge. The tools are intuitive, affordable, and powerful. What’s missing is confidence and literacy at the top.
For many SMEs, AI feels overwhelming. It’s easy to dismiss it as something for corporates with big budgets. But the reality is different: the most effective AI tools cost as little as $20 USD a month. What matters is how they are applied, and whether leaders can create a 24-month roadmap that links AI adoption to strategy, people, and growth.
That’s what A.icehouse sets out to do. The programme blends strategic guidance for senior leaders with hands-on training for operational teams. Leaders learn how AI impacts their revenue models, operations, and business strategy. Teams learn how to use AI responsibly to lift productivity and free up capacity. This layered approach is critical. It ensures AI isn’t siloed as a “tech project” but becomes embedded across the organisation.
The timing is urgent. We hear daily from our alumni that while they see the benefits of AI, the real gains come only when adoption is intentional, strategic, and organisation-wide. Without this, SMEs risk losing their competitive edge – struggling to retain talent, missing efficiency gains, and failing to compete with larger, faster-moving players.
But here’s the opportunity: When SMEs get this right, the benefits flow well beyond individual businesses. We see stronger margins, more resilient organisations, and higher-performing teams. That fuels job creation, regional growth, and ultimately strengthens the whole New Zealand economy.
At the Icehouse, our mission has always been clear: to lift the capability of Kiwi SMEs so they can grow smarter and faster. With AI, the stakes are higher, but the opportunity is bigger. A.icehouse is not just training – it’s a national lift in capability.
SMEs win when they can compete in the AI era. And when SMEs win, New Zealand wins.
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