Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki is once again set to support ambitious local enterprises with the return of its Scale Up Grants, opening 15 September 2025.

Offering up to $5,000 in funding (GST exclusive), the grants are designed to help Taranaki based for-profit small to medium enterprises (SMEs) overcome barriers to growth and realise their business goals faster.

Launched in 2024, the inaugural programme demonstrated strong demand and impact. In its first year, Venture Taranaki received 77 applications seeking more than $380,000, with nine grants awarded totalling $43,000. The successful projects spanned sectors from food and fibre to technology and innovation, delivering practical outcomes such as productivity gains, product development, and new market research.

Scale Up Grants are designed for ambitious business owners with clear growth plans who can demonstrate how their activities will take their enterprise to the next level, driving revenue, creating jobs, advancing sustainability goals, or enhancing investment readiness.

Jennifer Patterson, General Manager Economic Development at Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, says the results speak for themselves, “The inaugural round of Scale Up Grants showed just how much ambition and innovation exist within our small business community. These grants are making a tangible difference, helping local enterprises take on new markets, improve productivity, and grow their impact within the region.”

Highlights included Healy Organics, which developed equipment to improve efficiency; Bush Flat Bees, which invested in product development; and The Virtue, which carried out market research in Australia.

Bush Flat Bees founder Ben Collier says, “To receive the grant funding has allowed us to take a more professional approach to this product development and reduce the risk to some of the decisions we make.”

For The Virtue, the impact was equally transformative. Owner Brooke Lean notes, “Beyond the financial boost, the grant gave us the confidence and validation to take risks and pursue ambitious goals. It’s helped us build a foundation for long-term growth and set the stage for even greater success in the years to come.”

Other recipients echoed the value of the programme. Nanobubble Agritech described their project as “a great example of the power of grant funds to enable low-cost testing and validation of business strategy.”

Natacha Dunn, PowerUp Programme Lead at Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, adds, “We often hear from businesses stuck in that ‘in-between’ stage, too small for larger funding but needing resources to scale. Scale Up Grants fill that gap, acting as a catalyst for growth. The success of last year’s recipients proves that even small, targeted funding can unlock big opportunities.”

The contestable grants provide flexibility, enabling businesses to fund activities identified within their growth strategy, from developing new products to entering new markets or scaling up operations. The funding is designed to act as a catalyst, accelerating these initiatives so enterprises can move faster and achieve results sooner. The Scale Up Grants sit within the Venture Taranaki flagship PowerUp Programme, which fosters a thriving and connected entrepreneurial ecosystem in Taranaki.

Applications open on 15 September and close on 15 October 2025.

Key details:

• Up to $5,000 in funding (GST exclusive)
• Available to Taranaki-based for-profit SMEs
• Applications open 15 September and close 15 October 2025

For more information on criteria and eligibility and to apply, visit:
www.venture.org.nz/enterprise-and-entrepreneurship/power-up/scaleup/