Steve Corbett, who has recently taken up chairmanship of industry association Incubators New Zealand, says the initiative by the Ministry of Science and Innovation is recognition of the way the incubator industry has developed.
He says the next decade has the potential to be one of the best decades for New Zealand technology companies to succeed internationally.
“Our high-tech companies can compete on global stage, and our incubators provide them with the tools and services to go global.”
Corbett says the country’s eight incubators have developed “significant role” in the technology start-up development phases, with direct links to research providers, universities and crown research institutes, to ensure the funding is targeted appropriately.
“The incubators’ structures and systems and investor networks will ensure the research grants can be leveraged to further assist the tech start-ups to achieve product and market validation earlier and get to market that much sooner,” he says.
