Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF)

Fellows Supporting Investment Funds EHF Fellows are catalysing investment into New Zealand’s innovation economy, facilitating and investing in funds that fuel growth for Kiwi startups. The 2023/24 Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report highlights some examples, including Mark Bregman’s Quidnet Ventures, which invested NZ$1.14 million into NZ companies, including, Aider, Litmaps, Amy AI (led by EHF Fellow Raphael Nolden), and Advemto. Quidnet is supported by Fellows, including Mohan Nair as a limited partner, Trevor Squier as an advisor, Mayank Malik and Benedict Perez as advisors/investors and Fellows Sara Sutton, Teruhide Sato as investors. The NZVC fund with co-founding partner Mark Pavlyukovskyy, and venture partners Vishal Chaddha and Rich Bodo, with limited partners Jaan Tallinn, Naval Ravikant and Sean McGrail, deployed NZ$1.1 million into NZ companies. These funds have helped support companies including VXT, Menuaid, Squareone, Carbon Crop, Cupla, Upstock, Sugar Limited, Aimer, and Miruku. Satya Kumar Dontamsetti has invested NZ$290,000 into several Angel/VC funds, and a further NZ$290,000 directly into NZ businesses in recent years. This year, he invested NZ$50,000 as a limited partner into the Enterprise Angels Fund 4, which has funded NZ fintech company Emerge (formerly SquareOne) and biometric tech company Realaml, as well as NZ$16,000+ into Fellow Siddharth Sthalekar’s Neighbourhoods Foundation. Satya also introduced Rajesh Kurup to Enterprise Angels, who committed NZ$50,000 into the same fund, and connected Enterprise Angels to Hyderabad Angels in India, to explore opportunities to invest in each other's funds. For more examples of how EHF Fellows are creating value and impact across Aotearoa NZ, view the 2023/24 Annual Report on our website: https://lnkd.in/gaNm6nUs

EHF Fellow Amy Armstrong, founder of Weaver Collaborations, is developing transformative strategies and building climate resilience from Aotearoa NZ, in the Pacific. As highlighted in our 2023/24 Annual Report, Amy draws on her global experience in climate and conservation to lead initiatives like the Resilience Accelerator for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, to help Pacific communities gain crucial support for reef restoration. Learn more about how Amy is helping to shape sustainable, community-driven solutions in ocean conservation and climate adaptation: https://lnkd.in/gde4QRvT

Help Recognise NZ’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem!  Nominations for the Global Entrepreneurship Network New Zealand Awards have been extended, now closing Friday 1 November — be sure to submit your nominations today!

Fellows Supporting Inclusion and Addressing Inequities EHF Fellows are supporting inclusion and addressing inequities through impactful initiatives, leveraging their expertise to create opportunities for underserved communities, breaking down barriers, and advocating for systemic change. The 2023/24 Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report highlights some examples, such as Jarek Beksa and Sara Chin’s startup Sonnar Interactive Ltd., which is advancing accessibility technology from Aotearoa NZ. Their innovative solutions are breaking down barriers for individuals with vision impairments and reading disabilities, transforming access to gaming and reading, expanding opportunities for these communities. Annie Ualesi, co-founder of CALLED Ltd, is delivering systemic, long-term solutions alongside communities to reduce inequities. Annie co-designed solutions with the Samoan community and health sector to address rheumatic fever, an initiative commissioned by Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora. She also designed and facilitated a series of workshops providing personal and professional development for women across the Pacific Public Service – Fale Women in Leadership Programme (Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission). Erin Jackson helped to advance gender equity and improve healthcare through her work with Project Gender. She was involved with forming the vision of Aotearoa NZ’s first-ever National Women’s Health Strategy, and championed the needs of single parents with the ‘Mako Mama – Mangopare’ report. She also advocated the need for systemic support and investment in women’s initiatives at the 'Fund Female Founders'. Cameron Smith, founder of Take2, scaled his transformative coding programme into Australian prisons, expanding from its success in Aotearoa NZ. Take2 provides incarcerated individuals with web development training and ‘a second chance at life’. Many of Take2’s graduates have gained employment with leading IT companies – demonstrating the programme's efficacy in breaking cycles of incarceration and unemployment. For more examples of how EHF Fellows are creating value and impact across Aotearoa NZ, view the 2023/24 Annual Report on our website: https://lnkd.in/gf_VtZDh

Fellows Sharing Thought leadership EHF Fellows are helping to shape Aotearoa NZ's innovation ecosystem through their thought leadership and global expertise, and fostering crucial connections that bridges NZ with global markets. Some examples are highlighted in the 2023/24 Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report, including Fellows Michael Tchao, Lisa Nelson, Chuck Chai, Michael Sims, and Anthony Lee, who contributed to discussions on economic and tech collaboration between Aotearoa NZ and the US at an NZTE event in San Francisco, hosted by Anthony Lee at his Altos office. The Fellows met with the New Zealand Ambassador to the US, Bede Corry and shared thinking for how Aotearoa NZ could raise its profile as an innovation nation, supporting potential economic and innovation opportunities. Fellows Justin Kan, Amitt Mahajan, Riana Shah, Lane Rettig, Rob Reid, Julia Bossmann, Christopher deCharms, Jon Lee and Sam Ng shared their expertise on pivotal topics shaping the AI landscape in a series of free online sessions with facilitators Chris Gagné and Jade Tang-Taylor (https://lnkd.in/gY5EvsRz). Aimed at the NZ ecosystem, Fellows discussed safeguarding security and privacy in the AI World, envisioning the impact of Generative AI on New Zealanders, and uncovering strategies for gaming companies and startups to leverage Generative AI. This provided Kiwi businesses, government and industry an opportunity to hear cutting-edge thinking from leading AI experts and market leaders around the world. For more examples of how EHF Fellows are creating value and impact across Aotearoa NZ, view the 2023/24 Annual Report on our website: https://lnkd.in/gf_VtZDh

EHF Fellow Aaron McDonald is revolutionising digital interactions through Futureverse, a world-leading AI and metaverse technology and content company based in Aotearoa NZ. Aaron’s innovative work, highlighted in our 2023/24 Annual Report, is transforming the metaverse into a practical and accessible space while empowering users to take control of their digital assets. His leadership is helping to position Aotearoa NZ at the forefront of global tech innovation. Learn more about how Futureverse is reshaping the digital future: https://lnkd.in/g5Ec5qxc #Futureverse #metaverse #TechLeadership #DigitalTransformation #innovation #NZinnovation #FutureTech #technology #futureofinternet #digitalfuture #interoperability #AI #readyplayerone

Fellows Supporting Community Resilience in Aotearoa NZ EHF Fellows are supporting community resilience across Aotearoa NZ through innovative solutions and partnerships, addressing critical challenges like climate adaptation, indigenous entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. The 2023/24 Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report highlights some examples of their impactful contributions, such as Maya Soetoro and Zelda Keller, co-founders of the Institute for Climate and Peace, who launched the Pacific Partnership Hub to facilitate the exchange of climate knowledge and indigenous wisdom among Aotearoa NZ, Hawai‘i, and other Pacific nations to foster culturally responsive strategies and community-led solutions that enhance climate and community resilience. Lily Stender and Scott D. Miller supported 10 Māori businesses in Tolaga Bay, and further afield, through the Tolaga Evergreen Fund (www.tolaga.org). The fund provides financial support through seed loans with hands-on mentoring, nurturing indigenous entrepreneurship and contributing significantly to local economic and community resilience. The ‘Slash For Cash’ project, led by Thabiso Mashaba and Lily Stender, is supporting the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa regions by converting wood debris – washed down from forestry areas during Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle – into organic biochar fertiliser and smokeless charcoal briquettes, which are then sold to local businesses. The initiative is generating employment opportunities, enhancing community resilience and promoting sustainable environmental practices. For more examples of how EHF Fellows are creating value and impact across Aotearoa NZ, view the 2023/24 Annual Report on our website: https://lnkd.in/gf_VtZDh

Fellows investing in Aotearoa NZ 2023/24 Building on the strong foundation laid over the previous two years, where EHF Fellows directly invested more than NZ$136 million into New Zealand ventures, Fellows are continuing to invest millions of dollars to help scale Kiwi companies. The 2023/24 Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report highlights several examples of Fellows attracting capital as well as making significant investments into NZ ventures, such as Andrew Wilkinson’s Canadian-based investment company Tiny, which acquired a majority stake in NZ-based Letterboxd, investing around NZ$58 million into the film social media site. The founders say Tiny will provide both the capital and expertise to help during a significant growth period. Also, Rob Reid, through his fund Resilience Reserve, LLC, invested NZ$7 million in Auckland-based startup Mint Innovation, the world's first company to use natural biomass and smart chemistry to extract green metals from waste commercially. For more examples of how EHF Fellows are creating value and impact across Aotearoa NZ, view the 2023/24 Annual Report on our website: https://lnkd.in/gf_VtZDh

EHF Fellows are delivering extraordinary value for Aotearoa NZ - investing millions of dollars into Kiwi businesses year-on-year, connecting Kiwi founders to international markets, contributing to high value sectors like renewable energy and AI through their transformative ventures, supporting regional communities to thrive, tackling social inequities and addressing environmental issues. Released today, the Hillary Institute & EHF Annual Report for 2023/24 shows EHF’s commitment to building NZ’s innovation economy, and how Fellows are playing a critical role in helping businesses scale globally, leveraging their knowledge and extensive networks to develop, scale, and fund cutting-edge local innovations. A celebration of outstanding impact by two extraordinary groups - EHF Fellows and Hillary Laureates - read about their stories, highlights and achievements here: https://lnkd.in/gX8WXqyY In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing highlights from the Annual Report and how the 2023/24 year has been one of significant impact and momentum.

In September and October, we spotlighted some of the EHF Fellows making a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing. We shared how they're: 💻 reshaping systems and utilising technology to improve access to care, like Norbu Feng He’s mobile platform MyTherapist - making mental health care accessible across Asia, and Dr Reza Jarral's innovative approach - leveraging technology for more equitable healthcare 🏥 developing people-centric models and approaches, like Jeni Mayorskaya’s Stork Club Reproductive Care Benefits addressing gaps for women’s fertility and maternity care, Larissa Michelsen and Janette Searle's Pacific Med Tech improving healthcare access in the Pacific Islands - as well as Hazel Heal’s work to eliminate Hepatitis B in Niue, and Erin Jackson’s Project Gender work to address the unmet needs of women overlooked by traditional healthcare systems 🌿 developing consumer products designed to enhance health and wellbeing, like Dr Bo Hendgen's natural healthcare solutions at Absolute Essential, and Chloe Van Dyke and Florence Van Dyke's Chia Sisters nature-inspired functional drinks 💪 enabling communities and whānau to drive collective wellbeing like Jase Te Patu’s foundation Hauora Aotearoa, which is equipping kaiako (teachers) and rangatahi (young people) with the tools to build a healthier future - grounded in te ao Māori principles, Joanne McEachen’s Peerwell fostering emotional resilience through peer learning, and Danika Revell’s work through The Period Place to ensure menstrual products reach those in underserved communities. These stories are just some examples of Fellows who are transforming the health and wellbeing landscape in Aotearoa NZ and around the world. Ngā mihi nui to the Fellows who shared their impactful mahi (work) for these stories! This month, we’ll have a new ‘spotlight’ focusing on highlights and stories from our upcoming 2023/24 Annual Report, showcasing the impact Hillary Laureates and EHF Fellows have created during the year.