Stefan Speller’s The Public Square: Making Palmerston North the tech hub of New Zealand

Palmerston North is the home of Mrinali Kumar’s EatKinda, creating icecream from cauliflower.

Opinion:

AI, ChatGPT and intelligent tech are a constant in the news. It’s easy to think of the discussion being about Silicon Valley but it is equally as relevant to Palmerston North.

Tech is New Zealand’s second-largest export sector. It employs 5 per cent of the country, with a median base salary of $100,000. Fifty per cent of those people are based in Auckland, but Palmerston North has a view to change that.

Companies like Levno, Ezicheq, and Yorb have been birthed in Palmerston North and remain proudly headquartered in the city. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Being a rural city, with Massey University on our doorstep, we also have a well-developed agricultural tech sector. A good example of our urban/rural credentials is the farming insurer, FMG, which chooses to be based here.

We have agtech businesses like BioLumic using UV light to alter seeds. We have foodtech businesses like Mrinali Kumar’s EatKinda, creating icecream from cauliflower. Not to be forgotten are FoodHQ and Fonterra’s research and development base.

ManawaTech executive officer Steve Pavarno says tech is an enabler of economic activity.

“Short-staffed companies reach for tech to automate. Companies who want to expand often use tech to facilitate that. Every second startup needs a tech co-founder.”

So we have demand for tech products and services worldwide, from local start-ups and companies struggling to find staff.

So how do we make Palmerston North a place that attracts more tech companies and jobs, as well as create the environment for them to be successful?

The city council aims to be an innovative city and says the natural advantages of Palmerston North will support innovation and the development of new industries. But how exactly could this work?

Pavarno says councils and government should be open to engage and help the tech sector build a professional community.

Many tech businesses are small, with fewer than 10 staff, or sole contractors. This means owners and leaders need community for their own development, collaboration and peer support.

Councils, government and businesses can also support our tech sector by buying local. Pavarno says “big companies often charge big money for complicated things that should be simple. Small and local can be fast and tightly customised to your needs.”

MP Judith Collins is National’s spokesperson for research, science, artificial intelligence and technology. She says local companies are going overseas for capital. To keep tech startups and companies here “we need to get money in and support research and development”.

In many ways tech has the same needs as other sectors: affordable housing, good schools, basic amenities, reasonable commutes. Things that make a city appealing to staff and business owners.

But we also need to continue to build our community of tech leaders, high-quality internet and infrastructure, capital support for startups and scaling, a pipeline of staff with the skills or initiative to learn, officials open to trialling new ideas, and a culture of innovation.

We also have an opportunity to become a city where people work remotely, while their parent company is headquartered in Auckland or overseas. And staff are more likely to move to Palmerston North for a role if there are also other tech employers based here. This provides long-term growth and security for their employment.

So this Techweek, I challenge our city, government and business leaders to look for opportunities to grow and support our tech community. Perhaps as we grow more AI and intelligent tech discussions will be referencing Palmerston North.

Stefan Speller is a governance board chairman, speaker and local government commentator.