New Zealand is known for building great SaaS companies - ones that compete in high-stakes global markets. Household names like Xero, Pushpay, Vend, and Timely all hail from this island nation, and here at Auor, we’re super proud to sit alongside them.

We’ve spent the last 10 years growing a global company, and being able to draw on that experience to help accelerate the future of the NZ Tech and SaaS story is a privilege and it’s something we take very seriously. How do we continue to have New Zealand companies expedite their growth story using the experience of every great NZ startup that came before them?

So, when asked if we’d host the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Hon. Dr David Clark, in his pre-budget announcement that was tipped to build momentum and accelerate the NZ tech sector, it was clearly a resounding “yes.”

I was able to introduce the Minister, but I first made sure to discuss the importance of SaaS and tech in NZ. As a company, we were able to highlight to the Minister and key media some of the big issues Auror has experienced over the last decade, and what the government could be doing better to accelerate this incredible growth industry:

• Funding and capital - ensuring Kiwi startups have access to the kind of funding they need here in NZ;
• People - help us raise visibility of tech as a viable career by working with dedicated programs like Dev Academy to get good skill matches, ensuring we’ve got the best talent here in NZ to help us grow, and ensuring those people are a diverse bunch of folk with a myriad of experience;
• Collaboration - this shouldn’t be just startups driving this - government and wider industry has a role to play in designing and executing a great strategy to bring this all to life, and we’re looking forward to being part of that.

The announcement confirmed that Budget 2022 would be providing $20m in additional funding over four years to the tech sector, specifically to support the growth of Kiwi SaaS companies like ours. The Minister also announced marketing initiatives like the NZ Tech and Innovation Story to ensure that NZ Tech is seen on a global stage and can maximize its international growth.

We’re so proud we could host the Minister and play a part in the future of New Zealand’s digital economy.

Thank you to KiwiSaaS for facilitating the opportunity; we’re excited you have Auror’s very own VP of People Experience, Kirsti Grant, on your Advisory Council to help support these initiatives using her 13+ years of involvement within the startup community.

To our own Dev Academy graduates, it was incredible to have the Minister meet the very people we highlighted as bringing so much into Auror and the company we’ve built to date and will continue to build.

Announcement: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/budget-2022-invests-tech-sector-growth‍