Kia ora, This year, our members face challenges and opportunities regarding the progression of open banking and by inference opening up competition. New Zealand has generally adopted the ‘diplomat’ approach to financial services and open banking. For example, a market-driven, bottom-up, hands-on approach where the industry is providing the standards and process for voluntary adoption of open banking. As this is generally voluntary, it is prone to non-standardisation of the structure, the depth of opportunity and standardised API providers and their interfaces, access, and to some extent incent ..read more

The new financial year has started with the ‘pedal to the metal’. We talk about a few of the activities below, but by no means does it cover everything that’s happened! If you’ve been making waves in fintech ESG, sustainability or impact space, with ‘Sustainable FinTech news’ in the subject line and a link to your media release or blog, and we’ll include it in our newsletter. We were excited to attend the launch of the Climate Technology Roadmap – a significant milestone event attended by the Hon. Simon Watts, Minister for Climate Change and Acting Minister for Technology. The Minister acknowl ..read more

April already, a fool, a new moon and an eclipse! This smorgasbord of a month is bringing in all the good vibes encouraging for all you RegTech innovators, movers and shakers. Manifest that change. Carpe diem. RegTech snapshots – Janet Chenery From Europe, our friends in the North, aka Koen Vanderhoydonk, The Connector, brought this article to our attention this week: Harmoney, a Belgian solver for complex onboarding and compliance processes, have shared insights into the three main RegTech issues faced by their clients, have a read, see if they strike a chord with you. Published on 1 April, I ..read more

Kia ora, April brings change in many forms – not just shorter days and falling leaves from our deciduous trees. For business it’s not only a new trading quarter and for some a new financial year, but also the arrival of policy exposure drafts from Government agencies that sometimes stack three, four or five deep. This is hard enough for people or organisations, but for consensus-driven community/industry groups it is quite daunting. I’ve always found it strange that while agencies recognise the value of group responses, additional time for the process is not afforded to them by default. Howeve ..read more

Kia ora, It is another big week for blockchain as we watch the impact of the latest Bitcoin halving.  BlockchainNZ executive council member, Ben Rose, shared why the world should be paying attention in an NZ Herald article last week.  One of the biggest impacts is expected to be a change in the approach to bitcoin mining with the use of AI gaining prominence. While we marvel at the growth of Bitcoin, I can’t help thinking there are other equally important areas for the New Zealand Blockchain community to be considering. After the devastation in Bondi last week, wh ..read more

Kia ora, I’m delighted to share some highlights from the Techweek24 programme today — which is now live!  Techweek is New Zealand’s annual festival for tech and innovation, and the NZTech team has been running the nationwide platform since 2017. This year it runs from 20-26 May.  Each year, Techweek features hundreds of events nationwide, engaging thousands of Kiwi across the motu, driving a nation-wide conversation about the value and impact of emerging technology upon the lives of New Zealanders. The nationwide programme is developed and curated locally by our regional pa ..read more

Parents passionately believe in their child, there’s a world of potential waiting to be unlocked. ‘’So, we’re on a mission to support these parents and accelerate the lives of One Billion Children by putting life-changing neuroscience into their hands during the critical first 1,000 days of life.’’  says Tim Haynes, CEO and Co-Founder of Neurofrog. Connecting early childhood development with education and activities fosters healthier births and builds stronger cognitive and socio-emotional foundations. This, in turn, leads to improved life outcomes, learning experiences, and social mobili ..read more

Brooke Howard-Smith is the founder of Otterfish that is at the heart of the creator economy and influencer marketing. He’s also a cofounder of Non-Fungible Labs which is now a part of Futureverse. Brooke and I broadly cover what’s happening with AI and how its affecting everything digital and where Web3 fits in. We jump right in Brooke is talking about everyone leveraging what they love, being commercial and non commercial at the same time in the creator economy. Find the BCNZ Pod: Website Apple Google Spotify iHeartRadio YouTube Media & Sponsorship Enquires: team@blockchain.org.n ..read more

In this issue Insights from our Executive Director  BioTechNZ Strategic Plan 2024-2025 Government update Submissions Member news Insights from our Executive Director  Just a month ago we were eagerly anticipating the Life Sciences Summit, and we’re thrilled to report our second annual summit, following the outstanding success of our inaugural event in 2023, was yet another triumph. Check out the photo gallery here.  Amidst the current climate with a new Government in place, the biotech sector finds itself in a favourable position. It’s been two decades since a Governmen ..read more

Industry voice NZTech, today announces the launch of a new report, Technology for Emissions Reduction: A framework for Aotearoa’s Climate Technology Roadmap.  The report sheds light on the crucial role of tech in driving emissions reduction efforts and is being launched by the Hon Simon Watts, Minister of Climate Change at an event at Spark’s Innovation Studio in Auckland today. “As we navigate the complexities of climate change, embracing a diverse range of technologies is becoming increasingly important. Tech can contribute to reducing emissions, promoting sustainability and driving eco ..read more