Loren Heaphy, ChristchurchNZ General Manager of Destination and Attraction, said SailGP represented a unique and unmissable opportunity for the city: “This is an entirely different event to those we typically attract to Christchurch, and we jumped at the opportunity to bid to host SailGP. “We are a city of sport and innovation, and SailGP combines…
Author: Christchurch NZ
Canterbury Innovators Post Quake – ChristchurchNZ.com
“The earthquakes encouraged people to work together. We were all facing similar challenges. We took bigger risks. We trusted each other a bit more than perhaps we normally would. We shared ideas and we supported each other.” Many of the tenant companies ChristchurchNZ spoke to emphasised the benefits of co-location. Dru Hill, managing director of…
Start-up support for COVID-19 impacted jobseekers
“It’s a huge network of support and a great example of Ōtautahi’s flourishing and connected innovation ecosystem in action. Plus, the support and networks the Accelerator finalists will finish with is tremendous,” said Warren. Participants will be supported by a network of mentors and business experts Diane McDermott, Ministry of Social Development’s Regional Commissioner for…
Canterbury Innovators – Global Legacies
“This has been transformational in that it is widely used throughout the world and is now an essential and highly-used medical device.” A more recent medical innovation is the MARS Scanner, the world’s first 3D colour scanner developed by father-and-son professors Phil and Anthony Butler. Their company, MARS Bioimaging Ltd, invented the device drawing on…
Christchurch’s Aerospace Industry Takes Flight
Although the aerospace industry is relatively new in New Zealand, it’s already a billion-dollar business. ChristchurchNZ’s Business and Investment Attraction Manager Liz Eden says this is attractive from an investment point of view because when the industry grows, so do high value jobs across many industries. The Aerospace sector relies on engineering talent but the…
ExploreCHC Campaign – ChristchurchNZ.com
“Our intention with ExploreCHC, other than increasing awareness of our visitation offering in key markets, was to help offset the reduced revenue experienced by our South Island business community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Heaphy said. Figures from 2018 show Canterbury has nearly 9000 businesses in tourism-related industries supporting close to 70,000 jobs….
City Support for Entrepreneurs and Innovators
On behalf of the city, ChristchurchNZ has recently invested in Canterbury’s existing founder incubators, Te Ōhaka at Ara Institute of Canterbury and ThincLab at the University of Canterbury. This investment will both build the number of businesses they are able to support, and the depth of support as businesses are launched out of both. Each…
Showcasing The Best Of Christchurch’s Innovation
To support Christchurch’s recovery from the economic effects of Covid-19, ChristchurchNZ is helping these entrepreneurs – by giving them a leg-up to create new start-ups and grow existing businesses in Christchurch. ‘’For us the question has been, how do we create the system to turn those great ideas into business reality and sustainable decent jobs?’’ Anderson said. To do just…
Challenge to Accelerate Innovation in the Food, Fibre and Agritech Sector
“Food, fibre and agritech is a really critical part of the Canterbury economy – 20 per cent of GDP for Greater Christchurch annually is produced by the food, fibre and agritech sectors. A Challenge like this helps feed the expertise and wealth of knowledge that we already have within Canterbury by drawing out other businesses…
Revamped Backyard Buskers Festival – ChristchurchNZ.com
Spanning three weekends from 15 to 31 January, the Bread & Circus Backyard Buskers Festival will return to the circus capital of Aotearoa. This year’s street festival will showcase the best hand-picked, home-grown circus, comedy, music and acrobatic talent. The line-up is packed with old favourites and brilliant new events. It includes a gala at…
Businesses Need Support, And Here’s What We Can All Do About It
2020 has been a year like no other. Around the world lives have been changed irrevocably. Thankfully New Zealand avoided the worst of the public health impacts. But our business community has been hugely affected, with even the best laid plans being well and truly put to the test. Companies have faced huge uncertainty, job…
FoodStarter Challenge – Applications Open!
Ministry of Awesome chief executive, Marian Johnson, says “it’s been a very tough year for food and beverage start-ups and small suppliers alike, the lockdowns made it challenging to trade for some, and for others, it’s been hard to focus on growing their business. When we were planning FoodStarter 2021, all the partners wanted to…
Venue Upgrade for ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022
Loren Heaphy, ChristchurchNZ General Manager Destination and Attraction says: “We are very pleased to have our cricketing facilities upgraded ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022. Cricket is a core part of Canterbury culture, as is equality, with suffrage being born here in Otautahi Christchurch.” “The awarding of this funding from government is…
Action and Opportunities in Skills and Employment
We are supporting the journey for labour market priority groups – school leavers, tertiary graduates, NEET (young people not in employment, education or training), impacted workers, Māori and industry.. To ensure work isn’t duplicated, and to identify gaps, we aremapping the support available from iwi, central and local government agencies, our education providers, charitable trusts,…
What it Takes to Attract Businesses to Christchurch
ChristchurchNZ does this by letting business decision makers located in New Zealand and around the world in on Ōtautahi’s best kept secret – the unique local business environment that enables growth and wellbeing for companies and employees. I believe strongly that Christchurch has a lot to offer. Originally from the UK, I moved to Christchurch…
HealthTech Supernode Challenge Winners – ChristchurchNZ.com
‘’These start-ups are growing the jobs of the future. Congratulations to Next Step™– we are excited to see what you do next from your base here in Aotearoa.’’ Fellow judges, Microbiologist and media commentator Dr. Siouxsie Wiles and Ministry of Health Chief Science Advisor Ian Town were impressed by the healthtech innovation presented during the…
HealthTech Supernode Challenge Finalists Announced
Sponsored by ChristchurchNZ, Kiwi Innovation Network (KiwiNet) and Ryman Healthcare, the HealthTech Supernode Challenge aims to identify and generate commercially viable solutions that address real healthcare problems, with a special focus on the Aged Care and Rural New Zealand sectors. The 22 challenge semi-finalists went through an intensive six-week accelerator programme, working through key development…
Ōtautahi Christchurch’s Antarctic Stories Come to Life
“Ōtautahi Christchurch has always been a place of exploration and stories, with perhaps the richest Antarctic history on the planet,” Kennedy said. “The Antarctic Gateway City Trail enables people to experience this history in depth, at the places it happened, and at their own pace.” Figures from 2017 show that National Antarctic Programmes that utilise…
More than 3500 Canterbury businesses accessed Covid related support
Gary and Karen Manning opened award-winning The Dubliner Irish pub in Methven in 2014. The initial shock of COVID-19 was considerable, with patronage disappearing overnight. “We had to close of course, so there was no business whatsoever,” Gary Manning said. Through Level 3 their business was down 75 per cent and was still down 25…
What Christchurch can do to Pull Through the Effects of COVID
ChristchurchNZ and its partners have facilitated COVID-19-related support services for thousands of businesses who sought it and continue to do so. We launched a hugely significant domestic tourism campaign and have attracted a range of major events to drive both local and visitor spending. Along with this immediate work, we appreciate how vital it is…
T20 Black Clash to Light Up Ōtautahi Christchurch as Classic Code Clash Returns to Canterbury in January
“It was pretty obvious that the 2019 result was just one of those freak occurrences that happen in sport,” Fleming said. “There’s no rational explanation as to how it happened – and there’s certainly no way anyone can foresee it happening again. “We’ve got a lot of respect for Sir Graham’s team – as rugby…
Packed summer of home international cricket announced
Starting in November fans can see Canterbury, New Zealand-A and the BLACKCAPS take on international teams from West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh. The first top-billing match at Hagley Oval will see the BLACKCAPS take on Pakistan in a test match on Sunday 3 January. A top-billing T20 between the BLACKCAPS and the West Indies…
Days of Ice brings Antarctica to life
David Kennedy, Head of the Christchurch Antarctic Office, part of ChristchurchNZ, said he was “excited to see an expansion of events around the traditional Antarctic season opening”. “Days of Ice is a celebration of Ōtautahi Christchurch’s Antarctic connection, both modern and historic, and we can’t wait to see the public engaging with our passionate Antarctic…
BLOOM – Ōtautahi Christchurch’s spring season of events returns in 2020
Paul Lonsdale, Central City Business Association manager said the BLOOM spring festival is a perfect opportunity for people to explore the city. “Central city businesses have been hit particularly hard by the disruption caused by Covid-19, but the BLOOM events are a great opportunity to support local businesses and explore what’s on in the city,”…
Christchurch startup wins backing of international accelerator
“Being a part of Startmate’s first New Zealand cohort is a very exciting opportunity for our startup. The exposure to other successful founders alongside mentorship from a wide range of industry experts and veterans is enabling us to progress on some of the most daunting challenges on our horizons,” says Blythe. Pyper Vision was part…
Spotlight on Creative Agency: Maui Studios
“I’m the guy with the crazy beard” – Vincent Egan’s disclaimer with the photos he sends in of him and his business partner Madison Henry-Ryan at Māui Studios. With a backward cap, big grin and impressive facial hair, Egan is every bit the creative digital entrepreneur that makes up Christchurch’s tech scene. Animation, illustration, virtual…
How to Host Famils When No One Can Travel
While the domestic market is active with the entire country in Level 2, international visitors seem a long way off. But they will return. To that end, we realise we can take this opportunity to refresh our destination proposition, elevate our brand messages and communicate the values of manaakitanga to our travel partners overseas. Christchurch…
Canterbury on show to the world with the release of Disney’s Mulan
“Screen Canterbury NZ is determined to attract more and more productions like Mulan to Canterbury,” Loverich said. Caro said Canterbury and Otago were home to several “critical locations” for the film, including the Ahuriri Valley, south of Lake Pukaki. “We took 900 people and all of our horses to the Ahuriri Valley to stage an…
ExploreCHC a Campaign to Unite and Reposition the Central South Island
Covid-19 has inflicted significant economic damage on New Zealand and the South Island. While, nationally we are currently close to a ‘best case’ economic scenario, ChristchurchNZ economists project between 6-12 percent drop in GDP in Christchurch and job losses ranging from 9,000 to 36,000. The sectors/people most likely to be affected are Tourism, SMEs, and vulnerable workforces….
New tool provides Canterbury decision-makers with latest data
The Index includes information on retail spend from the latest MarketView data. There has been overall growth in card spending of 9 percent during July 2020 when compared with July 2019. However, the data also shows tourism related industries – accommodation and cafes, restaurants, bars and takeaways – have seen the greatest declines of 27…