Founder and Startup Support Programme

Accelerating the growth of quality high-impact startups through hands-on mentorship and training.

How and why does Callaghan Innovation support founders and startups?

Callaghan Innovation plays an important role as a catalyst for startups and entrepreneurs, by helping to fund startup support organisations, and grow the next generation of innovators.

Callaghan Innovation’s Founder & Startup Programme is made up of a collection of startup and entrepreneurship initiatives, delivered by our partner organisations (see below). The aim is to build ‘entrepreneurial capability’ in aspiring entrepreneurs, accelerate the growth of high-quality startups through facilitating mentorship and training, and grow the number of tech startups in NZ.

The purpose of the support initiatives are to:

lift the productivity and performance of New Zealand startups
equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the mindset, skills and networks to succeed
create more and higher quality startups (including deep tech companies)
lift diversity in startups and entrepreneurship, especially Māori and female representation
increase the quality and scale of New Zealand’s startup support ecosystem.

Who is the support for?

The initiatives are geared at founders and/or early-stage ventures working to solve global problems. While not limited to sector type, participants are typically digital tech startups or deep tech startups. Ideally, businesses will already have a product or service in mind to develop.

How does the Founder & Startup Support Programme work?

The programme’s initiatives are delivered by our partner organisations, and offer entrepreneurial capability-building, startup development, and investment-readiness initiatives.

Those initiatives include Accelerators, which are typically delivered over a three-month period, as well as other shorter-term initiatives, often for earlier-stage startups. Providers choose who participates in their initiatives.

After participating in these initiatives founders should be in a stronger position to take the next steps to grow their business.

Our Provider organisations:

Icehouse Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs brave Kiwi founders building global companies. The Icehouse team invests from pre-seed to IPO and looks for founders with deep domain expertise who aspire to become global companies that can change an industry.
Creative HQ helps innovators around the world transform their ideas into real-world solutions. The School of Innovation offers hands-on innovation training and professional development workshops to help people approach projects in new ways, increase productivity and learn problem-solving skills. The Creative HQ Accelerator programme is a 3-month virtual programme open to Aotearoa based startup founders looking to row quickly and scale globally.
Sprout Agritech is New Zealand’s leading agritech accelerator and investor and has been working with agrifood tech startups since 2015. The Sprout Agritech Accelerator programme is a 12-week Accelerator aimed at agritech and foodtech entrepreneurs and businesses looking to turn IP into a scalable business.
Kōkiri is a Māori Business Acceleration programme based on kaupapa Māori values and focused on accelerating early stage Māori-led start-ups that are technology-based and have bold ambitions. Developed for Māori, by Māori, the 12-week kaupapa-based startup accelerator supports early-stage Maori-led enterprises on a journey to sustainable business growth.
The Ministry of Awesome is a force for high-growth startups in Aotearoa. The team drives startup ambition, builds entrepreneurial capability and supports early-stage New Zealand founders and startups with global ambitions. The Founder Catalyst is a nine-month incubation programme designed to support, nurture and accelerate the growth of early-stage startups.
The HTK Group was established in 2015 to meet the growing demand for Māori-led professional services that understand the needs of Māori and indigenous organisations across the spectrum, from building startups and developing existing businesses to seeking investment opportunities. HTK offers a range of support services, capability-building programmes and innovation incubators focused on developing initiatives that create real impact. The Whakatū Accelerator is a 12-week founder driven startup accelerator programme designed to unleash the ambitions of Māori and Pacifica entrepreneurs. The accelerator will focus on Māori and Pacifica knowledge intensive businesses. The programme team will be based in Tāmaki Makaurau but will support founders across Aotearoa. Programming Māori & Pasifika Potential (PMP) is a digital technology accelerator for rangatahi Māori and Pacifica 16 - 19 years. In 2023, PMP will accelerate across Auckland, Christchurch, and Hawkes Bay, connecting 80 rangatahi into business innovation and digital technology.

How can you sign up and how much does it cost?

The support initiatives that are delivered by our providers are free for startups and founders.

If you’re interested in joining or finding out more contact the provider organisations listed above, directly or email the startup support team

Friends of the programme

There is plenty of other support available for startups, beyond what is offered in the Founder & Startup Support Programme. Visit our Learning for Startups page for other Startup resources and find out more about the other programmes Callaghan Innovation offers

We also have plenty of friends in the startup ecosystem who can also offer you some fantastic support in your local area:

Northland
The Orchard Business and Event Hub - a collaborative business and event space for entrepreneurs, startups and established business professionals in Northland.
Taranaki
Startup Taranaki is a team of motivated volunteers passionate about growing a strong, innovative & inclusive startup scene in the region.
Tairāwhiti
Startup Weekend Tairāwhiti is an annual weekend-long event where entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts, developers, designers, marketers, product managers, passionate people and creative thinkers come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startups!
Dunedin
Startup Dunedin - aims to support Dunedin-based startups by facilitating connections, capability, and community.
Queenstown
Startup Queenstown Lakes - drives innovation in their region, by fostering a startup ecosystem.
Invercargill
COIN South is an innovation network for Southland start-ups looking to scale beyond the region.
Tauranga
Venture Centre provides the opportunity for you to learn and activate key entrepreneurial skills including how to explore, test, measure, iterate and validate ideas.
Manawatu
The Factory - Turn your idea into a business with us or scale your start-up to be a business of tomorrow.
Hamilton
Soda - We connect businesses of all sizes, industries and stages to the right advice, support, resources and funding, to accelerate business growth and drive innovation.
Auckland
Outset Ventures - We are an early-stage investment fund and a physical space for technology incubation.
And more!

Updated: 14 March 2023