An exciting announcement for N16.
You may have seen the announcement yesterday from Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Chris Penk and Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Dr Shane Reti about an AI advisory pilot programme.
I am super excited to share that N16 is one of a small number of confirmed providers.
The pilot will be delivered through the Regional Business Partner Network (RBPN) and is currently available to existing customers. Invitations will be sent out by RBP partners starting next week. It is set to run for at least 6 months, offering practical support to SMEs so that they can access and use AI tools that lift productivity.
There are a few things I really like about the pilot:
- They are starting small as a proof of concept, gathering the data and evidence to prove that it is making an impact – just as all successful AI pilots should.
- It's about solving real business problems first. We are not just implementing AI tools, but first identifying business challenges, assessing benefits and ROI before implementing.
- It shows the government understands the real challenges SMEs are facing in NZ (particularly around productivity) and are looking at innovative ways to support.
For N16 – perhaps it was luck or a bit of good planning – but the AI Navigator I have been building fits almost perfectly with what the pilot is wanting to achieve.
If you're a business owner keen to explore the wide range of support available through the RBPN, reach out to your local RBP partner for more details.
Looking forward to sharing more about this over the coming months.