Eight New Zealand Businesses Receive $21.4m in Grants for Go-to-Market Activities

Eight businesses pioneering new innovations in New Zealand have been awarded government grants worth a combined total of $21.4m.

The funding has been awarded through the country's new Ārohia Innovation Trailblazer fund, set up by the government to support New Zealand's entrepreneurs in taking their big ideas to market.

The grants can be used for various non-R&D go-to-market activities, including product and process development and new business models.

The businesses that received the grants are working in a variety of fields, from space technology and refrigerated shipping to healthcare and clean tech.

Alimetry: A wearable device for monitoring gastrointestinal symptoms at home.

Avertana: Refines industrial waste into valuable mineral and chemical products using innovative chemistry and process design.

CarbonScape: Creates sustainable, carbon negative biographite for the battery sector.

Dawn Aerospace: Enables the next generation of space users by providing more sustainable and scalable ways to access and move around in orbit.

Kitea Health: Implantable pressure sensor devices for proactive management of chronic disease.

Leaft Foods: Sustainable leaf protein.

Neocrete: Technology to replace cement in concrete with activated volcanic ash.

Wellumio: Pre-hospital diagnosis and life-changing treatments.

However, the Taxpayers' Union has criticized the grants as corporate welfare. They argue that grants like these simply pick winners by gambling with taxpayer money rather than allowing the market to determine what businesses should succeed based on their ability to provide a product people want at a price people are willing to pay.