Launchpad workshops in full swing

Launchpad teams at the Akina workshop. Photo: Mark Tantrum

In early October, more than 75 people arrived at GRID AKL, ready to take part in their first workshop for the Launchpad, the Akina Foundation's programme to get social enterprise ideas off the ground.

The six-month programme, designed to support teams with early stage social enterprise ideas, involves eleven teams, which are all committed to creating positive social and environmental impact through new business ideas.

The first two-day workshop was designed to enable the teams - who are all at different stages of developing their social enterprises - to focus on clarifying their initial business model and start identifying the risks and assumptions that need to be tested.

Each team set a number of objectives for their first 'sprint' to help them build their social enterprise. At the next workshop (November 10-11), the teams will regroup to share what they've learned and adapted - and will then work out what they need to do next to develop their business further.

Each Launchpad team is working with a dedicated support team, who are providing mentoring and coaching throughout the programme. Each support team is led by a staff member from Contact Energy, and guided by an Akina Foundation venture manager, and Akina has also recruited people from a variety of professional backgrounds, including their Compass Network partners, KPMG and Vodafone, and a group of AUT MBA graduates, to provide practical support throughout the programme.

"One of the main barriers affecting social enterprise in New Zealand is the lack of early-stage support and development," says David Clearwater, programme director for the Launchpad.

"We've adapted best practice examples from social and commercial accelerators up and running across the world to develop the Launchpad - the plan is to provide the teams we've chosen with capability building, start-up mentoring, access to networks and investment pathways."

During the monthly two-day workshops, the teams will learn how to use business innovation processes to build sustainable and successful business models, with content sessions on topics including Lean Startup, business modelling, strategy, finance, sales and marketing.