Centrality Accelerator Announces Demo Day Keynote Speaker

Centrality Accelerator Announces Hon James Shaw as Keynote Speaker for Demo Day

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – 24 Jan 2019 – Minister for Climate Change and Minister of Statistics Hon James Shaw will deliver the keynote speech at Centrality’s upcoming Demo Day run by Creative HQ’s Lightning Lab.

The first Centrality Accelerator powered by Lightning Lab began in October 2018 and will culminate with six companies presenting on Demo Day to the NZ investment community. All teams are seeking investment to take their now validated businesses global over the next 12 months.

Centrality, New Zealand’s blockchain venture studio, is working with the companies on global market opportunities for tourism, data and climate change sectors amongst others. They have provided direct access to Centrality’s leadership team and key personnel to craft strategy and share insights on decentralised ecosystems and go-to-market strategy.

One of the most valuable parts of the Centrality Accelerator is direct access to leaders in the business world – the teams are already in play with high-profile New Zealand companies and working with council and government bodies in some instances. Strategic partnerships are underway and beta customers are already onboarding.

Demo Day will be held in Auckland on 27 February 2019. Hon James Shaw will speak about the contribution Centrality has made to the government backed Digital Identity initiative and the opportunities this initiative affords the New Zealand tech industry. Hon Shaw will also discuss the importance of Kiwi companies working on climate change initiatives, data sovereignty and open data.

Decentralised ecosystems
Centrality GM of Strategic Partnerships, Andy Higgs, says New Zealand is the ideal test ground for global tech solutions and Centrality is continuing that legacy.

“The current model has consumer data controlled by corporations often without permission. We are beginning to see the unintended consequences such as frequent data breaches and questionable data monetisation. Centrality has set out to build fair, socially conscious tech solutions that allow consumers to own their data and for businesses to use it fairly,” says Andy. “Central to this is an eco-system where individuals and businesses retain data sovereignty in order to ethically use it.”

Jeff Mann, Programme Director of the accelerator says the six teams will graduate from the programme with a set of broad and highly applicable business skills, and fully sustainable business models.

“These companies have been through a rigorous programme and are already engaged with commercial partners who will fuel their growth. The ideal outcome is to match these ventures with the right level of investment that supports their growth to deliver unique benefits and real value to customers.”

Companies working in the Centrality Accelerator powered by Lightning Lab are:

Āhau: Built on Maori values, Āhau is a decentralised digital identity platform to help connect you with who you are, where you are from and what you do.

CarbonClick: CarbonClick makes carbon offsetting simple for all businesses and their customers. CarbonClick enables consumers to use their purchasing power to back carbon friendly products and services.

CinemaLogic: CinemaLogic is a contract management platform that automates the supply of cinema releases to theatres globally. Cinema Logic provides studios with real time insights that deliver trust, transparency and governance to the theatrical industry.

CityOn: CityOn provides tourists with a simple tool to identify themselves with operators when booking and checking-in to accommodation, entertainment and activities in a verifiable and secure way. Tourists can share their data to enhance their destination experience.

Pocketful: Pocketful is a social sharing wallet for flats, joint accounts and groups that manage income, spending and budgeting.

Yabble: Yabble is already a going concern, working with brands directly to disrupt the traditional market research industry. Yabble is the data broker that allows consumers to own and trade their own data directly through ethically sourced data.

For Centrality Accelerator team videos please visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlWkmxpKpIWZQjIpF_m8T4QwlngE4lNca.

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