Funds for budding entrepreneurs
Officials hope a new "microgrant" scheme will help unearth South Otago's hidden entrepreneurs.
Regional development organisation Clutha Development is making available grant funding ranging from $500 to $1500 to individuals or groups hoping to progress early-stage business ideas in the district.
Project spokeswoman Clutha Development economic development manager Sarah Hayward said the scheme was part of a drive to form an "entrepreneurial network" in the district.
"Our goal is to encourage people in the Clutha District to take action on those ideas that have been sitting in the back of their minds. Sometimes, all it takes is a small push to get moving — and that is what a microgrant is designed to provide."
She said the scheme had already received applications despite only launching last week.
"It's easy to apply online, and applicants will also have the opportunity to access activator sessions, in partnership with COIN South, the Southland business incubator."
Activator sessions could provide guidance and practical support to help applicants shape their ideas, and prepare strong applications, she said.
The scheme had been inspired by Start Up Dunedin's microgrant programme, which ran earlier this year.
"Start Up Dunedin have shared their experiences in setting up their scheme, and really showed us how powerful these small grants can be for grassroots innovation."
Ms Hayward said the grants could be used for a wide range of purposes.
"It could be anything related to fostering a new business idea, for example prototype development, branding or market research. It's there to help get you over your first hurdle."
Grants were "no-strings-attached", and no business equity was taken.
She said she hoped the scheme would provide "real momentum" for locals with promising business ideas.
"Entrepreneurialsm helps diversify the local economy, foster economic growth and create vibrancy within a community, setting off a snowball effect.
"We want to unearth the entrepreneurs out there, including those who perhaps don't think of themselves as entrepreneurs. It's for anybody with ideas, passion and motivation."
Full criteria can be found at www.cluthanz.com. Applications close on September 8.
richard.davison@odt.co.nz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Platform guides course decisions
It is hard to fathom how he does it. Final-year University of Otago medical student Josiah Bugden has somehow also found time to establish a rapidly growing platform to help students navigate university life with confidence. Mr Bugden (25) is a finalist in the Momentum student entrepreneur category in the KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards for CourseSpy, which is about creating transparency in higher education. What started as a side project has evolved into a platform with more than 250,000 visits, which helps students make better and more informed decisions about their tertiary study. CourseSpy was born of Mr Bugden's own frustrations as a student. Prior to embarking on his medical studies, he did a science degree. He said while there were some necessary papers, it required having to "build your degree" and he found it tricky figuring out which papers to take. All he had to go off was the paper title and maybe a couple of sentences, yet there were so many options available, he said. In his hall of residence, friends would pass around Google documents, sharing course advice, and it got him thinking — and tinkering. Teaching himself to code, he built a basic website for students to leave course reviews and also tips and tricks and discovered people liked it. While the website was very unpolished, he saw how students were using it and decided it might be worth putting in more effort and seeing if he could expand the offering and make a viable business. Over last year, he became involved with Startup Dunedin and the Audacious business challenge and Momentum, the national student-led investment committee programme. That provided him with advice on how to take the "next steps" and included getting a team around him, which included his brother Sam, to work on it. What the team wanted to create was a one-stop hub for students to get course advice and it had evolved to be more than a review site, he said. It allowed students to plan their degrees, calculate entrance scores, manage timetables, choose accommodation and access curated study resources. CourseSpy now hosted more than 15,000 course reviews across all eight New Zealand universities and had had about 250,000 page visits, he said. In a recent user survey, the overwhelming majority of student users reported they had changed their future course selections based on insights gained through the platform. In the past year, CourseSpy had also launched Mastery Modules — interactive, adaptive question banks designed to guide students through each lecture and improve their long-term retention and grades. Those modules were built by a team of tutors and high-achieving students to ensure high-quality, course-specific learning support. Mr Bugden said his goal was to continue the rapid growth of CourseSpy by adding tutors and textbooks and further developing Mastery Modules for CourseSpy's proprietary learning platform while looking to expand overseas soon. He acknowledged the juggle between his medical studies and CourseSpy had been "tricky" to manage but said he had enjoyed learning about business and having a great team around him had been pivotal. He now wanted to involve more people in the project to ensure it was sustainable into the future. He was passionate about medicine and was looking forward to working as a doctor next year and it was likely he would take on more of a consulting role with CourseSpy. The winners will be announced at a function in Auckland on October 22.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Funds for budding entrepreneurs
Clutha Development economic development manager Sarah Hayward is encouraging South Otago entrepreneurs to access the organisation's new microgrants scheme to kick-start their business idea. PHOTO: RICHARD DAVISON Officials hope a new "microgrant" scheme will help unearth South Otago's hidden entrepreneurs. Regional development organisation Clutha Development is making available grant funding ranging from $500 to $1500 to individuals or groups hoping to progress early-stage business ideas in the district. Project spokeswoman Clutha Development economic development manager Sarah Hayward said the scheme was part of a drive to form an "entrepreneurial network" in the district. "Our goal is to encourage people in the Clutha District to take action on those ideas that have been sitting in the back of their minds. Sometimes, all it takes is a small push to get moving — and that is what a microgrant is designed to provide." She said the scheme had already received applications despite only launching last week. "It's easy to apply online, and applicants will also have the opportunity to access activator sessions, in partnership with COIN South, the Southland business incubator." Activator sessions could provide guidance and practical support to help applicants shape their ideas, and prepare strong applications, she said. The scheme had been inspired by Start Up Dunedin's microgrant programme, which ran earlier this year. "Start Up Dunedin have shared their experiences in setting up their scheme, and really showed us how powerful these small grants can be for grassroots innovation." Ms Hayward said the grants could be used for a wide range of purposes. "It could be anything related to fostering a new business idea, for example prototype development, branding or market research. It's there to help get you over your first hurdle." Grants were "no-strings-attached", and no business equity was taken. She said she hoped the scheme would provide "real momentum" for locals with promising business ideas. "Entrepreneurialsm helps diversify the local economy, foster economic growth and create vibrancy within a community, setting off a snowball effect. "We want to unearth the entrepreneurs out there, including those who perhaps don't think of themselves as entrepreneurs. It's for anybody with ideas, passion and motivation." Full criteria can be found at Applications close on September 8.
Otago Daily Times
23-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Kitchen-born company shares recipe for success
A beverage company with beginnings in the kitchen of a Dunedin student flat has credited a now two decades-old initiative as paving the way for its success. Cheeky Hard Iced Tea was joined by fellow businesses PledgeMe and PocketSmith at the University of Otago's School of Business yesterday for an event hosted by Startup Dunedin celebrating the past 20 years of student startups. All were involved in the organisation's Audacious startup programme — a Dunedin City Council-sponsored initiative for University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic students to help start their own business, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Co-founders Brendan Yielder and Olivier Despatis were Audacious winners in 2020. The pair had both lived in Canada and noticed a gap in the New Zealand market for alcoholic iced tea, which culminated in the beverage business. The recipe was conceived in the kitchen of their student flat, Mr Yielder said. Now celebrating its five-year anniversary, the company supplies about 1000 liquor stores nationwide. Audacious had been "super important" when building the business in the beginning. "It was a really good foundation for us to go out and execute on our idea, a really good starting point." They initially launched the product at the 2020 Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival, where they sold out of 400 litres halfway through the event's second day, he said. "We were right there on the turf next to some really big brands that we looked up to. "I'm not sure that if we were starting out in Auckland, say, we would have been given that shot." Their first production run of 30,000 cans was done at a local brewery, before a full-scale launch at O Week in 2021. Everybody knew each other in Dunedin and there were "amazing connections" who were keen to help, Mr Yielder said. Their sales in Dunedin gave retailers around the country the confidence to give them a chance. "Dunedin was just the right size for us to figure out how to do this." Startup Dunedin general manager Rachel Butler said there were many "touch points" within the university and Dunedin life that helped students to build a startup. As well as Audacious, the Bachelor of Entrepreneurship introduced in 2022 was another way the university had backed entrepreneurship in the city. Ms Butler said if students were willing and able, Dunedin was the easiest place in New Zealand to build a network. "People are sincerely interested and believe the next great idea may come from a student while they're studying."
