Innov8HQ

20/10/2026

🎤 We're excited to launch - Mana Mic moments... & in this episode we're looking at: Who's steering the waka, and who's holding the wallet?! 😂

Ever wondered where all that tax money actually goes?

Hospitals, housing, education, jobs, roads... there's one massive kitty and a whole lot of decisions about how it's spent!

And guess what? We get a say in who makes those calls!

Here's the kicker though. Only 67% of eligible 18–24-year-olds are enrolled to vote.

Imagine the power of 100% of our rangatahi having the choice to help steer the waka!🔥

Massive mihi to Kiwikiwi and Hazel for sparking this important kōrero in Ōtepoti! 🙌

🎥 Innov8HQ whānau and alumni, give these two a listen!

🎤 Our Mana Mic question: If you had the power to decide where our tax dollars went, what would you fund FIRST?

Drop your whakaaro | thoughts, feels below! 👇

🗳️ Not enrolled? Get it sorted at vote.nz by 25 October.

"No commission. No party to push. Just a kaupapa close to our hearts: rangatahi having a voice in the future they're helping shape!" 🎤🛶

17/09/2026

✨ A pretty special Konaki 2026 story.

Meet Jaylen-Blaze Daane, 16, from Riverton, Murihiku, and the youngest pakihi Māori we’ve had the privilege of working alongside through Konaki.

Jaylen-Blaze lives with Type 1 diabetes and has turned that lived experience into Mediglow, a glow-in-the-dark bedside medication caddy designed to make medication easier to find, reach and organise overnight.

Pretty damn cool. And even better, it comes from a problem he knows personally.

His impact started well before Konaki too. At just 12, he was recognised by Diabetes NZ as a young educator and role model, and he continues to use his voice and experience to tautoko others living with diabetes.

Konaki is our 8-week profile-matching business sprint, connecting University of Otago tauira with a real pakihi to test ideas, challenge thinking, build capability and activate what could come next.

This year, our 2026 tauira team worked alongside Jaylen-Blaze across market research, customer needs, pricing, manufacturing, MVP thinking and future pathways for Mediglow.

And a massive mihi to our 2026 tauira team James Bennett Zane Jacobs, Jude Konings Ellis Jamee Jenkins Tane Cook. He rawe rawa atu ā koutou mahi, your work was absolutely awesome. Nau mai, Katrina Nicol, ki tēnei haereka hei kaiāwhina hou mō Konaki.

The whakaaro, curiosity, manaaki and mahi you brought to this kaupapa is exactly what Konaki is about. Applied academic learning on a real world, and in this case - emerging leaders business.

And now comes the exciting bit.

The validation and the demand is there. Now we need to help get this product moving.

One of the biggest challenges (beyond only being 16) is 3D printing and production capacity, alongside some extra pūtea to move from prototype into the next stage.

There is also some important mahi ahead around IP and trademarking, making sure Jaylen-Blaze has the right advice and protection around the brand as it grows.

So here’s our shout-out. 📣

If you’re in 3D printing, manufacturing, product development, IP or trademark law, or you’re someone who would simply love to back a talented young founder with a genuinely useful idea, we’d love to hear from you.

This is where connections can make a real difference.

Success is activation and the opportunity here is far and wide.

Ka mau te wehi, Jaylen-Blaze. 🚀 He tīmatanga noa tēnei. This is only the beginning. 💙

And if you want to see what nine years of Konaki has activated, check out our latest Konaki Insights & Impact Report too https://lnkd.in/eT6fHUEb

He mihi nui ki a Katharina Ruckstuhl me Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka mō te tautoko, te mahi ngātahi me te whakapono ki a Konaki i roto i ngā tau e iwa.

Our sincere thanks to Katharina Ruchstuhl and Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka | University of Otago for nine years of support, partnership and belief in Konaki and its continued evolution with Deb Renata-Gallon

07/09/2026

He mihi nui ki a Kara, Leigh me te tīma o Te Hā o Maru. 💛

A huge thank you to Kara, Leigh and the Te Hā o Maru team for hosting us last night at the stunning new Waitaki Events Centre - how awesome is this complex for the region.

It was brilliant to welcome the next emerging group of rakatahi leaders as we kicked off the next chapter of Mana Rangatahi in Ōamaru.

We’re really excited to be teaming up with Te Hā o Maru to bring the Mana Rangatahi Leadership Academy back to Ōamaru, creating more opportunities for local rakatahi to build confidence, leadership, connections and pathways for the next stages in their lives.

Māhaki nui ki a koutou katoa for the manaaki, the partnership and for backing our rakatahi.

Ōamaru, we’re excited to be back. 🔥

17/08/2026

Kia ora e te iwi | Greetings everyone 👋

This year marks our 9th year working alongside the University of Otago Business School through our Kōnaki Business accelerator project, and for 2026 we’re doing something a little special.

Our student team is supporting an up-and-coming entrepreneur to help get a pretty cool idea off the ground, focused on making it easier for people to organise and access important medical supplies, especially during the night.

We’re now looking for some real-world feedback to help pressure test the idea and shape what happens next.

If this sounds relevant to you, your whānau or someone you support, we’d love you to take 3–5 minutes to complete the survey.

Every response helps. 🙌

Survey link:

Kia ora! We are a group of students exploring an idea aimed at making it easier for people to organise and access important medical supplies, particularly during the night. We’re gathering feedback to better understand current experiences, challenges and what people would value in a potential solu...

29/07/2026

✨A little look at what’s been happening behind the scenes

Over the past few months, Innov8HQ and Kiwa Digital have been working together across Aotearoa to develop an exciting new series of creative technology workshops for rangatahi aged 11–13 year olds.

Together, we are reimagining storytelling for a fast-changing world of technology - creating spaces where rangatahi can explore their ideas, strengthen their voices and bring their creativity to life in new ways.

This month alone, the kaupapa has travelled from Ōtepoti Dunedin, to Wellington, and yesterday in the Far North, where rangatahi have been sharing some amazing reflections about their experience.

This is only our third workshop, and there are so many more to come. 🌊✨

We are incredibly excited about what is taking shape.

20/07/2026

✨ Ngā mihi nui | Thank You✨

What an incredible two days over this last School Holiday period - it was game changing.

On behalf of Innov8HQ and Kiwa Digital we'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Te Roopu Tautoko Ki Te Tonga for hosting the inaugural Next Wave Creators | Te Ngaru Auaha workshop.

Bringing together 11–13-year-olds from across Otago and Southland, this first-of-its-kind storytelling experience combined traditional creativity with digital technology, giving tamaraki and rangatahi the opportunity to bring their ideas, imagination and stories to life in exciting new ways.

The creativity, confidence and innovation we witnessed over the two days was nothing short of inspiring and bold. Seeing our young people embrace new tools while staying grounded in their own unique perspectives reminded us just how bright the future is.

A very special thank you also goes to Iris Gallagher, whose warmth, encouragement and dedication as our Rangatahi Student Mentor helped create a space where every young person felt welcomed, supported and inspired to give things a go. Your contribution was invaluable, and we are so grateful to have had you alongside us.

To all of the incredible whānau who entrusted us with your tamariki & rangatahi over the two days - thank you. Your support, encouragement and belief in your young people made this experience even more meaningful. It was an absolute privilege to spend time with such an amazing group of future creators, and we hope they returned home feeling proud of what they achieved.

This workshop marks the beginning of something much bigger.

Together, Innov8HQ and Kiwa Digital are proud to be launching more of these workshops to communities across the motu, and later this year supporting community projects across the Tasman. Our vision is to empower young people to tell their stories in ways that are meaningful, authentic and uniquely their own while strengthening creativity, confidence, culture and connection.

If your marae, kura, school, community organisation or youth group would love to host a workshop, we'd love to hear from you. Simply complete the Expression of Interest form below.
https://forms.office.com/r/AQ3eDCbKqm

This is only the beginning, and we can't wait to see this kaupapa inspire communities across Aotearoa and beyond.

Ngā mihi nui,

The teams at Innov8HQ & Kiwa Digital 💙✨

17/07/2026

So thrilled for one of our original Mana Rangatahi graduates & tuakana for this esteemed honour. Massive congratulations Blake Armstrong on this award, well deserved and we have loved watching your journey over the years with many more exciting opportunities to come!!! Ka mau re wehi e hoa 🥳🙌🤩

The Grand Prix winner of Rugby Photographer of the Year 2026

09/07/2026

As we welcome Matariki 2026, we’re reminded of this year’s beautiful theme, Matariki Herenga Waka – For Everyone.

To us, Herenga Waka speaks to connection - the way people, whānau, communities and kaupapa are tied together through shared journeys, shared purpose and shared hope. It reminds us that every journey matters, every contribution has value, and everyone has a place in the waka.

Matariki is a special time to pause and remember those who have passed, to celebrate the people beside us, and to look ahead with gratitude, courage and intention.

From the whānau of Innov8HQ, we honour this time of reflection, connection and renewal.

Matariki Herenga Waka - For Everyone
A time to gather.
A time to reflect.
A time to move forward together.

Ngā mihi o Matariki ki a koutou katoa ✨

Arohanui - Heidi, Deb and Mananui
(our Chief of People Pleasing & Human Connections Kuri 🐾🤩🥳❤️)

25/06/2026

Parents | Whānau, the school holidays are coming in hot 🔥

We’ve just had an extra spot open up for our Next Wave Creators workshop.

This is for 11–13 year olds who love to imagine, create, kōrero, dream up stories, share ideas, or simply try something new.

No need to be “techy” - this is all about creativity first.

For the first time ever, across 2 days, young people will explore how storytelling, imagination and youth voice can help shape the way technology is made with young people, not just for them.

So if your young person has big ideas, funny ideas, wild ideas, quiet ideas, or “I don’t know yet” ideas - this is their space.

Details below to register - we'd love to welcome them 🥳☺️ click here for more info.....https://www.innov8hq.com/next-wave-creators

Calling all whānau and friends - the next wave is coming.

An Exclusive 2-Day Tech & Digital Storytelling Wānanga for 11–13 Year Olds

Next Wave Creators | Te Ngaru Auaha is powered by Kiwa Digital in partnership with Innov8HQ, bringing global digital capability into local communities.

Together, we’re creating hands-on opportunities for rangatahi to explore technology, creativity, digital storytelling and future career pathways.

Global tech. Local talent. Future creators.

We are currently taking expressions of interest now - https://www.innov8hq.com/next-wave-creators 😊👌🏾

10/06/2026

A big thank you to Whakatipu Youth Trust for letting us use their space for our Mana Rangatahi workshop over the weekend! 🙌

We really appreciate you opening your doors for us - it made for a great day. Ngā mihi! 💛