For early-stage startups, grants make it possible to test your ideas, grow and access resources without the need for a war chest of cash.

For Aotearoa founders, there are many startup-friendly initiatives to help start your business and support your research and development activities. 

Here’s a list to get you started – any that we’ve missed you can tell us about here. 

Flexi-wage for self-employment

The Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) Flexi-wage supports you to start your own business by helping with costs while you get things up and running.

Criteria

Your need

• To be in the early stages of development and not yet self-sufficient
• An in-depth understanding of your proposed business idea
• To provide a business plan so WINZ can assess whether your business idea is viable before they provide assistance.

You can't get Flexi-wage for self-employment if you're restarting a business you've owned before, already running an established business that's struggling financially, or currently bankrupt.

What you can get

A weekly subsidy to go towards the costs of setting up your business, paid over the period of your contract. The amount and length depend on your situation, so WINZ will work this out with you at your appointment.

Once you're approved, you claim every four weeks and provide a mid-project financial report within the first 12 to 20 weeks.

Find out more about the Flexi-wage for self-employment.

Self-employment start up payment

The WINZ Self-employment start up payment helps you cover the essential startup costs.

Criteria

You need to be:

• Starting a new business and not yet trading, and
• At risk of long-term benefit dependency, which usually means you're getting a benefit or you qualify for one, and
• Have essential startup costs that you need help with.

You'll need to send WINZ your business plan, which they'll have independently assessed to make sure it's viable.

What you can get

How much you get depends on your situation. The payment can cover things like:

• Your first month's lease and bond
• Materials for prototyping
• Furniture or your first lot of stock
• Legal costs associated with establishing your business

Find out more about the Self-employment start up payment.

Business Training and Advice Grant

The Business Training and Advice Grant gives you access to expert advice on all the nuts and bolts of setting up your business.

Criteria

You need to be:

• Planning to start a new business, and
• Disadvantaged in the labour market, meaning you have or are expected to have difficulty getting or keeping a job, and
• At risk of long-term benefit dependency, and
• Getting help from WINZ to start that business.

What you can get

WINZ will pay an expert who'll help you with things like:

• Business skills training
• Developing a business plan
• Business advice before and when starting your business

You can apply more than once, but the total can't be more than $5,000 in a 52-week period.

Find out more about the Business Training and Advice Grant.

R&D Tax Incentive

The R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI) is a government tax scheme that helps you invest more in R&D. It's administered jointly by Inland Revenue and MBIE.

Criteria

You need to be:

• Performing a core R&D activity in New Zealand yourself, or through an R&D contractor in New Zealand, and
• Conducting business through a fixed establishment in New Zealand.

A core R&D activity must:

• Occur in New Zealand
• Seek to resolve scientific or technological uncertainty
• Follow a systematic approach
• Seek to create new knowledge, or new or improved processes, services or goods

What you can get

The RDTI is a 15% tax credit on the money you invest in eligible R&D. There's a minimum R&D expenditure of $50,000 per year, and it's capped at an expenditure of $120 million per year.

Some loss-making businesses can access the credit as a cash refund, subject to wage-intensity and eligibility tests. Worth a conversation with your accountant.

Find out more about the R&D Tax Incentive.

New to R&D Grant

The New to R&D Grant offers funding and support to help startups develop their capability for long-term R&D over a two-year period. It's a one-off grant, designed as the stepping stone into the RDTI.

Criteria

To be eligible, your startup must meet all of the following criteria:

• Incorporated and registered in New Zealand under the Companies Act 1993; or a Limited Partnership registered in New Zealand under the Limited Partnerships Act 2008; or a Māori Trust or incorporation under the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.
• Your startup must have spent less than $150,000 in total on R&D over the three years prior to the date you submit your application.
• You must be able to fund your 60% share of the project costs. Co-funding can't come from other New Zealand government or public funds.
• You must plan to undertake activities across at least two Skills and Capability Development categories. If your business doesn't need to develop R&D capability, you won't be eligible.

What you can get

The grant covers 40% of your eligible R&D and capability development costs, up to a maximum of $400,000, based on up to $1 million in total eligible project costs excluding GST. You fund the other 60%.

So if your project costs $400,000, you could receive $160,000 and you'd co-fund the remaining $240,000.

You submit claims and reports at least quarterly through the Innovation Services online portal and get reimbursed. If you don't have your co-funding in place at the start, the grant can be approved in principle with up to six months to secure it — useful if you want to use the approval as leverage with investors.

Find out more about the New to R&D Grant.

R&D Experience Grant

The R&D Experience Grant helps you bring on a tertiary-level student intern for 10 weeks, usually over the summer break. You get fresh thinking on an R&D challenge, they get real-world experience.

Criteria

Your business must be doing eligible R&D. Your student must be:

• Studying, or have recently completed, an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification at NZQA level 6–10, with their final semester closing less than 12 months ago
• Studying science, technology, engineering, design or business at a New Zealand tertiary institution
• Legally permitted to work in New Zealand
• Not previously employed at your business, other than part-time or temporary

International students are eligible. You can apply for up to 10 students, provided you meet the student to R&D personnel ratio.

What you can get

Funding of up to $11,960 plus GST for up to 400 hours of full-time work — a minimum of 30 hours a week over 10 weeks. The student works at your business, on your payroll, and you're reimbursed at the end of the internship.

Applications opened at 9am on Monday 13 July 2026 and close at 9am on Monday 24 August 2026, or earlier if the funding runs out.

Find out more about the R&D Experience Grant.

R&D Career Grant

The R&D Career Grant helps you bring a master's or PhD graduate into your R&D team for six months. It's their first job in the industry and your shortcut to specialised skills.

Criteria

At a minimum, your business must:

• Be incorporated in New Zealand
• Have an active R&D programme, meaning an R&D budget and R&D staff
• Employ the graduate full-time, a minimum of 30 hours a week, on your payroll

The graduate must have studied science, technology, engineering, design or business, and the role must relate to their area of study.

What you can get

Six months of the graduate's salary, up to $30,000 for a master's graduate and up to $35,000 for a PhD graduate. How much you get depends on their actual salary.

Applications open at 9am on Monday 31 August 2026.

Find out more about the R&D Career Grant.

He Ara Whakahihiko Capability Fund

He Ara Whakahihiko invests in growing Māori science, innovation and technology by strengthening the capability, capacity, skills and networks between the Māori economy and the science, innovation and technology system. It replaced Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund.

Funding is available through two schemes:

• Ara Whaihua (Impact pathways for research): for research that's ready to be implemented rather than exploratory, focused on commercialisation and economic growth. Work programmes run for 12 months.
• Rangapū Rangahau (Research Partnerships): for building new connections between Māori and the science, innovation and technology system. Work programmes run for two years.

Criteria

Proposals are assessed against each scheme's call for proposals, which sets out eligibility, assessment criteria and funding limits for that round. Check the current call before you start.

What you can get

Approximately $8.6 million excluding GST is available across both schemes in the 2027 investment round.

Find out more about the He Ara Whakahihiko Capability Fund.

What's no longer available

A few programmes founders used to ask us about have closed:

• Ārohia Trailblazer Grant and Ārohia Evidence Grant. MBIE closed both in December 2025 as part of the government's science and innovation reset. Approved and contracted applications will be honoured, but there are no further funding rounds.
• Hoe ki angitū (the NZTA Innovation Fund). Ran two rounds and backed 38 projects. No further rounds are planned.
• Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund. Replaced by He Ara Whakahihiko, above.

Looking for VC funding?

We'd love to hear from you! Our mission is to back the most ambitious and unrelenting founders from New Zealand and Australia right from the start of your journey – pre-seed and beyond!

You can reach out to anyone in our team at [first name]@airtree.vc or submit your pitch deck here.