PowerUp Accelerator Showcase Night 2026

Join Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki as five promising Taranaki startups take the stage at the PowerUp Accelerator Showcase.

Nau mai haere mai

Be part of the audience, in person or online, as this year’s PowerUp Accelerator programme participants pitch their ventures live.

Over the past ten weeks, five high-potential startups have taken part in the PowerUp Accelerator, a programme delivered by Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki that supports emerging startups with tailored mentoring and support from experts to strengthen their idea, and prepare for the next level of growth.

Five startups. Five pitches. One evening to see what’s emerging from the Taranaki innovation landscape.

Join us to hear pitches from:

• Flytte: An online logistics marketplace platform simplifying the booking of moving and transport services across New Zealand.
  
• Rooted Harmony: Wellness drink blends powered by Ayurvedic adaptogens and botanicals supporting hormonal balance and wellbeing.
  
• Green Loop: Turning commercial food waste into nutrient-dense compost that restores soil health.
  
• Kermit Shade & Shelter: Robust modular shade and shelter systems for homes, schools and hospitality environments.
  
• TipJar: A digital payments platform enabling organisations and businesses to collect payments instantly.
  

Come along to celebrate the strong entrepreneurial spirit of Taranaki. You'll have the chance to connect with the teams behind the ventures and experience their products and services firsthand in the Expo space.

The evening will feature guest speaker Iain Hosie, a Taranaki-born deep-tech entrepreneur who founded and led Nanolayr (Revolution Fibres) to become a world leader in nanofibre production. Iain is leading the Taranaki Applied Innovation Centre (TAIC) in partnership with Venture Taranaki, which is bringing cutting-edge innovation back to Taranaki, creating a new bioeconomy, and investable opportunities for the region.

He will share his start-up journey, his vision for TAIC, and the importance for Taranaki to invest in innovation.

The evening will be hosted by David Downs, CEO of the New Zealand Story Group and a passionate advocate for innovations and entrepreneurship in Aotearoa.

Light refreshments are available for those attending in person.

Registration is essential.