New Zealand has an abundance of talent and ideas, but we need to be faster getting our businesses to market and investment ready. Based on the Techstars accelerator model in the US, the Lightning Lab was NZ’s first business accelerator.

Tui led the early development and was responsible for international accreditation, securing public and angel investment, recruiting the first cohort of mentors and supporting the accelerator driver. Business acceleration is still operating within New Zealand and has launched many successful businesses and helped solve some of our greatest challenges.

Mahuki was a vertical innovation accelerator programme focused on global opportunities in the culture and heritage sector. A space where entrepreneurialism and culture collide to create innovative solutions that enrich galleries, libraries, archives and museums (the GLAM sector). Backed by Te Papa Tongarewa, it was located in a purpose-built facility in New Zealand’s National Museum. Mahuki was part of a growing trend amongst museums and cultural institutions to partner with industry / entrepreneurs in order to fast track innovation and adapt to a dynamic and increasingly digital world. The programme gained international attention and ran for four years.

There will be 1 million New Zealanders over the age of 65 by 2028, coinciding with a shrinking tax base to support older people with vulnerabilities. A third of all older people in New Zealand are currently vulnerable, with 13% experiencing disadvantage across multiple areas of wellbeing. Nearly 30,000 live in homes that are sometimes or always damp, and many experience feelings of loneliness or being isolated, which international research tells us places them at greater risk of an early death. The issues are greatest for Māori and Pacific seniors, with compounding challenges for single older women, those with a disability and those who have mental health issues.

Tui worked with Selwyn Foundation Chief Impact Officer Liz Gibbs, to deliver the inaugural Respectful Ageing Innovation Challenge. The challenge was established to support entrepreneurs to identify and amplify innovation products and services that support respectful ageing.

Aotearoa’s history and prosperity is rooted in our agricultural heritage. Globally, the sector is facing massive disruption from climate change, changing consumer preferences, supply chain disruption, the prevalence of AI, competition for talent and so on.

Through the global network and an extensive experience in entrepreneurship, investment and science, Te Ara Pōtiki is placing Māori candidates into world-leading agri-food companies in the United States.

Tui is the inaugural Executive Director of Te Ara Pōtiki - an indigenous global knowledge exchange programme in the agri-food sector.

Magnitude 7 is a pre-acceleration programme designed by Tui to provide a pathway into entrepreneurship and grow the next generation of innovators. With emphasis on Māori, Pacific and female founders, the programme was delivered in partnership with museums around New Zealand.