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NZTech Inform – Support Bilateral Innovation
Kia ora Readers,
New research published today by the Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AI Forum) is calling for urgent action to progress the use of AI to address some of New Zealand’s most pressing social, environmental and economic challenges, and not wait for a formal Government led national strategy.
Feeling refreshed, I am now looking forward to the preparations for the upcoming Enhanced Partnership for Exponential Impact Roadshow on 17 September in Wellington. Working with Singapore based, Kiwi owned, NZTech member, Ecosystm, we are welcoming several senior Singapore officials to New Zealand to further enhance collaboration and partnership, with a focus on fintech. The aim is to encourage more innovation between Singapore and New Zealand. Speakers include Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer from the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) and Dr David Hardoon, head of AI for MAS. Keep an eye out for an invitation, or drop me a note if you’d like to come.
If you can’t make the Wellington event, explore business opportunities in Singapore with networking events on 16 September in Christchurch, 19 September in Tauranga and 20 September in Auckland. Join New Zealand’s Trade Commissioner, Haley Horan, and the team as they share insights into the Singapore FinTech Festival and other opportunities for Kiwi tech firms.
Finally, it’s your last chance to submit on The Taxation (KiwiSaver, Student Loans, and Remedial Matters) Bill, currently at select committee. The bill includes changes to the R&D Tax Incentive and is open for submissions until 4 September. Your input will help the Government continue to refine the tax credit system. You can submit easily here. Our submission is related to ss105 – 107 of the Bill and our key messages are:
- We remain concerned with the cessation of the current growth grant scheme and the impact it will have on smaller tech firms, and ask for further consultation on solutions.
- We are concerned about the potential compliance burden of the application process on smaller firms.
- We are asking for more discussion on the definition of software development to ensure barriers aren’t accidently put up for small software firms.
Have a great week, and don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers, spring is here!
Ngā mihi
Graeme Muller
CEO
NZTech
Connect
Join NZSA on 10 September in Auckland for a panel discussion on exiting your business. Connect with game developers this week in Wellington at NZGDC19.
Join Digital Identity NZ on 11 September in Wellington to discuss banking and digital identity. Plus,Digital Identity in Health on 18 September in Auckland.
Join the EdTech Unconference on 15 September in Wellington. An unconference has a participant driven agenda. Register and detail your hot topics.
Promote
Register now for the 2019 NZ Cyber Security Summit and the 2019 NZ Digital Identity Summit will both being held on 16 October in Wellington.
The Future of Learning is 30 September – 1 October in Christchurch. NetHui 2019 is 3-4 October in Wellington. ITx Rutherford is 9-11 October in Nelson.
Ahead of the APEC SME Summit 2019, 14 November in Santiago de Chile, applications are now open for Inventing the Future 2019startup challenge. Entries close 29 September.
Advance
Calling all agritech startups, applications are open for evokeAG 2020 Startup Program. Also, join Agritech New Zealand on a study tour of China.
Investors in New Zealand’s early stage capital markets are being invited to comment on policy settings for the new Venture Capital Fund.
Learn more about the current state of women in tech, returnships and leadership opportunities. Join TechWomen here.
Learn more about how NZTech is representing you!
