Despite the impact of COVID-19, five innovative young New Zealand technology businesses are raring to go as the first round of the Vodafone xone Partner Series programme, supported by Vodafone New Zealand and Bank of New Zealand, draws to a close.

Micado, PiP IoT, Vxt, Credisense and Aider are the fledgling businesses emerging from the intensive programme of mentoring, workshops and networking held from January to March this year.

The developing ventures were selected for the programme due to their market-ready digital solutions designed to benefit small and medium businesses throughout New Zealand. The wide-ranging technologies include digital assistants using data analytics, artificial intelligence to act on voicemails, a 360-degree customer insights application, a “no-code” credit origination automation platform, and an end-to-end Internet-of-Things solution that will be able to leverage the Vodafone 5G mobile network.

Vxt CEO Luke Campbell says his team came out of the xone programme with a greater understanding of product value propositions and partnership pathways thanks to the expert advice and support from the Vodafone NZ and BNZ teams.

“We managed to tick off the majority of our company goals that we set when entering the programme,” he says.

“The Vodafone and BNZ teams were extremely engaged and proactive, leveraging the networks and connections they had, both internally and externally, to help us build a deeper understanding of our partnership offering and provide us with invaluable technical expertise.”

Vodafone NZ’s Head of IoT and South Island Michelle Sharp says her team have enjoyed seeing the small businesses grow and develop over the last few months.

“It was an absolute honour to work with such innovative and hard-working businesses,” she says.

“Kicking off the programme in January we definitely didn’t think the business landscape would look the way it does now but I have no doubt that these five organisations are ready to reach new heights with their incredible digital solutions.”

BNZ Head of Partnerships Connor Shelley says the connections that the two corporate brands have built with the xone businesses will continue to strengthen and grow beyond the programme.

“The three months of workshops and mentoring saw strong, supportive relationships develop between the various teams involved,” he says.

“We look forward to continuing to explore ways to support these businesses as they bring their solutions to market and make an impact on small and medium businesses throughout New Zealand.”