KIWA Awarded for Innovation in Media, Music & Entertainment

KIWA Awarded for Innovation in Media, Music & Entertainment

Auckland, 17 October2014 – KIWA®, a world leading production house for experiential digital books, has won the Innovation in Media, Music & Entertainment category at the 2014 New Zealand Innovation Awards.

Convened by the New Zealand Innovation Council, the Awards recognise top innovators and business ventures across 16 categories.

The evaluators noted KIWA’s commitment to innovation as a platform, not a just a product. This strategy is evident in work with clients such as the Ministry of Education, Penguin and Sesame Workshop creating innovative digital formats that contribute to learning. It has also led to the creation and commercialisation of products such as KIWA SLAM™ where participants around the world tell their own stories from their own culture in their own language.

In October KIWA® released its second graphic novella from the Ngā Atua Māori series called Te Wehenga o Ranginui Rāua ko Papatūānuku. It is available on iTunes and Google Play. The series re-tells the Māori stories as passed down orally through generations in a contemporary format for the digital generation.

Steven Renata, KIWA’s Global Business Development Director, acknowledged on receiving the award the importance of New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem to emerging businesses. “Success breeds success and the Innovator Awards play an important role in profiling and sharing the experiences of companies winning in global markets. Recognition in the awards is also matched by our progress commercially in New Zealand and overseas.”

Steven Renata, former co-founder and CEO of Les Mills West Coast (USA) is one of two senior appointments made to support KIWA’s growth plans among education customers, content owners and trade publishers internationally. Nikora Wharerau, a highly experienced Māori language teacher and educator also joins KIWA as Māori Business Development Advisor.

See more at kiwadigital.com

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