Business capability
We provide advice and support to businesses to help them grow, be more innovative, raise their capability and do business more easily.
On this page
Business growth drives the economy. Our role is to understand and strengthen businesses' capabilities to enable activities that will allow them to grow.
As businesses grow this helps lift New Zealand's productivity and the economic capabilities necessary for successful growth.
Information and advice
We know businesses that take advantage of information and seek out external advice can grow more than their competitors. Our business.govt.nz website provides a wide range of information that can help your business grow.
business.govt.nz(external link)
We also support the Regional Business Partner Network, which is delivered by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Callaghan Innovation. The network is a partnership between central and local government, with local business advisors able to help out your business.
Regional Business Partner Network(external link)
Innovation
Innovation, whether in products, processes or markets, is a critical factor in business growth. You can find out more about the Government’s efforts in supporting a sustainable innovation system in our Innovation Policy section.
If you need specific advice about innovation in your business, head to Callaghan Innovation.
Callaghan Innovation(external link)
Investment
Businesses need investment to take opportunities to grow. However, New Zealand businesses, particularly high growth and innovative firms, often struggle to obtain finance from traditional sources (ie, banks or existing private equity markets). Lack of international connectedness and difficulties accessing global value chains are also barriers to growth.
There are a small number of young, highly innovative firms that face particular barriers to finance. We work to address these barriers. We also work to ensure we have well-functioning capital markets that provide a capital pathway to meet a firms’ investment needs for growth.
Our response
We are working with NZTE and Callaghan Innovation to address some of these barriers (eg, a lack of capital available, coordination failures, information asymmetries).
NZTE’s investment attraction has been shifting towards quality investment, early stage, greenfields and particular sectors (eg, tech sector and agritech) and regions.
NZTE investment and funding on the NZTE website(external link)
Capital markets
We are also working to improve the performance of our early stage capital markets. There is a gap in the New Zealand venture (early stage) capital market as New Zealand’s start-up businesses struggle to get funding and get access to finance to help them grow.
The New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) helps start-up businesses raise investment. It does this through the:
- Venture Investment Fund (VIF) – a professional VC fund
- Seed Co-investment Fund (SCIF) – which supports formal angel investment networks and qualified investors through a co-investment partnership model.
The current operating model of NZVIF is currently under review so we will keep you updated of the progress being made.
Consultation on the policy statement on the Venture Capital Fund Act 2019
Internationalisation
Internationalisation – whether exporting, investment or access to international networks – is a major element for expanding firms to scale-up. Businesses that export tend to be some of our most productive firms, as they are exposed to, and gain the opportunities from, international competition.
We work closely with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) to ensure we can help New Zealand exporters grow bigger, better and faster. You can see NZTE's services on its website.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise(external link)
We also seek to provide advice to businesses that are considering, or just started, exporting to help them export successfully.