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Good practice Imported

Creative HQ — Wellington's Two-Decade Startup Accelerator and Innovation Hub

New Zealand · Wellington · See the New Zealand profile · See the Wellington profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 50% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Wellington's leading startup hub (est. 2004), Creative HQ has supported 1,500+ founders and 450+ companies in 20 years, generating NZ$128M in annual economic contribution and 1,300 jobs; winner of 'Best Contribution to the Tech Sector' at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards.

1,500+
Founders supported (2004-2024 (20 years))
450+
Companies supported (2004-2024 (20 years))
128 NZ$ million
Annual economic contribution
1,300
Jobs created
Creative HQ — Wellington's Two-Decade Startup Accelerator and Innovation Hub

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Creative HQ
Period
2004–present
Keywords
startup accelerator, entrepreneurship, deep tech, climate tech, digital economy

Context

Creative HQ is Wellington's startup accelerator and innovation hub, operating for more than 20 years with support from Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand's national innovation agency, and links to Wellington City Council.

Activities

The hub runs a 5-week Mini Accelerator for Wellington-based founders, a 12-week Climate Response Accelerator for impact entrepreneurs, and partners with Startup Genome and the global Startup World Cup, hosting the 2024 New Zealand Final with 11 competing ventures. Its stated mission is to develop 400 thriving, high-growth companies by 2030.

Results

Over 20 years, Creative HQ reports having supported more than 1,500 founders and 450 companies, generating a combined NZ$128 million annual contribution to the economy and 1,300 jobs. Alumni include Sharesies, New Zealand's largest retail investment platform, and Hnry, a payroll and tax platform for contractors. Creative HQ won 'Best Contribution to the Tech Sector' at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards, an independent industry recognition of its standing.

Conclusions

The founder, company and economic-contribution figures are self-reported cumulative totals rather than results of an independent audit or a before/after comparison against a counterfactual, so they describe scale and longevity rather than measured causal impact.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No specific annual operating budget is disclosed; funding flows through Callaghan Innovation (national agency) with Wellington City Council ties.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Operating continuously since 2004 (20+ years), with a stated target of 400 high-growth companies by 2030.
Staffing & skills
Creative HQ programme and accelerator management team, Callaghan Innovation as national funding/innovation-agency partner

Conditions for success

  • Multi-decade continuity (20+ years) anchored by national innovation-agency funding rather than short-term project funding
  • Multiple concurrent, differentiated programme tracks (general Mini Accelerator plus sector-specific Climate Response Accelerator)
  • International network ties (Startup Genome, Startup World Cup) bringing outside benchmarking and visibility

Common failure modes

  • Model has not been replicated in other New Zealand cities; governance is predominantly hub-led with limited documented co-design by diverse stakeholders

Where it fits

Governance type
national-agency-funded regional hub
Scale
city-level (Wellington)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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