Innovate Taranaki Celebrates 2023 Success and Unveils a Glimpse into 2024!

Innovate Taranaki Celebrates 2023 Success and Unveils a Glimpse into 2024!

Taranaki, 8th November 2023 - Following the successful culmination of Innovate Taranaki's 2023 edition, the event expressed gratitude to sponsors, mentors, judges and participants while offering a sneak peek into the exciting prospects of 2024. This year saw the Innovate Taranaki programme enriched with the participation of Dan Thurston-Crow & Katherine Blaney (DoSo). “Finals night” featured Glen Stephens (Power Up 2021 winner), as guest speaker, with some insightful nuggets on the “highs and lows” of the entrepreneurial journey, having successfully launched his own “Sol & Sea” skincare range several years ago, now exporting to global markets. Malcolm Gomez 2022’s programme winner was there to encourage and inspire our current year participants.

The 2023 Final’s Night event witnessed remarkable talent and innovation. Georgia Mumby, our first ever youth (high school) category winner, showcased a unique and promising vision for the future of youth entrepreneurship heralding the start of an exciting collaboration with Taranaki secondary schools and senior student entrepreneurship participation. This category presents an exceptional opportunity for young entrepreneurs in school to take their ideas to the next level. The programme’s overall winner, Neil Boyd, impressed the judges with a ground-breaking idea. His patented scalable solution to a universal problem many Kiwi’s could identify with in launching their water craft this summer, set a high bar for future innovation in our region.

Acknowledging the pivotal role played by sponsors, mentors, and all participants, Innovate Taranaki expressed deep appreciation. "Our sponsors, mentors, judges, programme facilitators and the dedicated participants were pivotal to the success of 2023. Their contributions and innovative fervour elevated this event to new heights. As an event that “stress-tests” business ideas and puts “budding” entrepreneurs & innovators through their paces it is unique in Taranaki. I encourage local entrepreneurs to put themselves forward in 2024. It’s not all about the prizemoney & investor exposure, but the wonderful skills acquired, ability to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and the opportunity for participants to “draw-from” experienced mentors and successful entrepreneurs is second to none," emphasised Simon Singh, CEO Innovation Hq.

Looking forward to the future, Innovate Taranaki provided a tantalising glimpse into the soft launch of the 2024 edition with opening the youth category to all the schools and a possible rebrand of the event. Promising new challenges and greater opportunities, the 2024 event aspires to be a dynamic platform for aspiring entrepreneurs in the region.

Further details about the 2024 edition, including significant announcements and developments, will be unveiled in the upcoming months. The organisers are committed to presenting an event that continues to surpass expectations, offering an even more transformative experience. We look forward to hearing from all entrepreneurs, potential sponsors, school pathways and YES leaders as we finalise planning for the 2024 event.

For media inquiries and additional information, please contact:

Pallak M Singh

Event Director

022 0400 955

innovate@innovationhq.co.nz