AI-powered tools to support small business growth

New Zealand has around 600,000 small businesses, making up 97 per cent of all firms and employing around 680,000 people. Ensuring they have access to practical, modern support is critical to lifting productivity and supporting growth.

Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing Hon Cameron Brewer today announced funding for two AI-enabled initiatives:

• Business Mentors New Zealand (BMNZ) will expand its use of artificial intelligence to enhance mentoring services and provide more tailored support to small businesses.
• Business South is to expand its AcceleratorNZ programme to a further 500 businesses. The programme uses AI to analyse business data, identify constraints, highlight growth opportunities, and deliver a practical, tailored action plan.

Boosting AI-powered mentoring services

Business Mentors New Zealand supports around 1,500 small and medium-sized enterprises each year by connecting them with experienced mentors.

The additional $82,000 funding will support the development of BMNZ’s AI Digital Mentor tool, which aims to better match businesses with mentors and services suited to their needs. The tool will also help capture insights from mentoring sessions and build an anonymised digital knowledge bank to strengthen future support.

The investment will help modernise the mentoring service with smarter, more responsive tools.

Expanding the AcceleratorNZ pilot

Led by Business South, the AcceleratorNZ pilot is testing a more data-driven, digitally enabled approach to regional business support.

The programme has already been trialled with more than 100 businesses. The expansion and additional $400,000 will allow over 500 more businesses to access AI-powered diagnostics over the next 12 months, helping them identify growth opportunities and improve performance.

AcceleratorNZ provides clear, data-driven insights and practical steps businesses can take to strengthen their operations and make targeted improvements.

The pilot will test whether the AcceleratorNZ model can deliver value across different regions and inform future design of the Regional Business Partner Network.

The initiatives are set to help small businesses understand how digital tools can improve efficiency, lift outcomes, and support productivity.