KiwiNet Emerging Innovator Programme
What’s on offer
The Emerging Innovator Programme delivers hands-on learning and funding to help researchers turn ideas into realworld impact.
Over approximately seven months, participants receive personalised mentorship, training, and access to resources valued at over $35,000.
Delivered in three cohorts each year, the programme brings together researchers from across Aotearoa to grow their commercial skills within a supportive innovator community.
The Emerging Innovator toolkit
$10,000 Project Fund
Kickstart your innovation with a $10,000 fund to help you prove your concept and forge vital industry connections—setting the stage for future funding and investment.Professional Development
Access a suite of workshops, resources and initiatives designed to accelerate your commercial journey. Build new skills to explore commercialisation as a way for your science to make a difference in the world.1:1 Mentoring
Benefit from personalised guidance from an experienced commercial mentor, matched to you and your project.Get Invested
Begin the journey to investor-readiness, learn how to craft compelling pitches and tap into valuable investor networks.Emerging Innovator Community
Connect with a vibrant community of passionate innovators. Exchange ideas, insights and experiences with your cohort and tap into the wisdom of our alumni network.What you’ll learn
Entrepreneurship & Impact
Market
Validation
Value
Proposition
Team Formation & Strategy
Leadership & Communication
Is this programme right for you?
The Emerging Innovator Programme is for researchers ready to grow. It’s designed for early-stage development: testing new ideas, building entrepreneurial capability and exploring real-world applications for your research.
Applicants should have a clever new idea, be open to learning, and be willing to collaborate with industry or commercial mentors to develop a prototype.
Emerging Innovator funding is a critical first step, positioning researchers to access further support such as PreSeed Accelerator funding or private investment.
“I have been on an incredible journey because of KiwiNet’s Emerging Innovator Programme – it gave me the courage and support to jump into the entrepreneurial world, which would have been too much to contemplate otherwise.
Without this sort of support, ideas stay in the lab. The opportunity to change the world was worth the risk, and the programme opened doors that would not have opened otherwise, such as to investors and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which recently awarded us a USD 1.7M grant.”
Dr Andrew Králíček
Founder & CTO, Scentian Bio
