New Zealand Technology Incubators will receive an extra $9 million in Government funding to support businesses to scale up and commercialise their ideas, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods.

The new funding injection demonstrates the Government’s commitment to promoting the commercialisation of advanced technologies from New Zealand’s public research organisations.

“Today’s funding announcement is on top of the $25.5 million support allocated in Budget 2019 for initiatives to promote the commercialisation of innovation.

“The government has already introduced the 15% R&D tax incentive through Budget 2018, and more recently we announced refundability measures, meaning pre-profit business will be able to get cash back, which is of more use to them than a credit.

“This Government is committed to building a modern economy and that means supporting innovators in the early phases of their business development.

“Callaghan Innovation has a great track record of supporting successful start-ups. And as the government’s innovation agency, their incubator programmes have produced 45 new start-ups and attracted more than $50 million in private capital, making a strong case for continued Government investment,” says Megan Woods.

An RFP process is currently underway to select incubators that are internationally connected, backed by sufficient capital and focused on pathways to global markets.

This $9 million dollars of additional funding over three years has been allocated specifically to the Technology Incubator Programme as part of a recent budget reprioritisation package.

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