Global Growth Opportunity
A test-bed for innovation, Christchurch is a city inspired, the place for future-focused, sustainable businesses and people who want to do things differently. We are leading the way in global health tech, aerospace and future transport, food fibre and agritech, and hi-tech solutions. These growth sectors are supported by progressive ecosystems connecting enterprise, education, and government.
The future is bright and full of possibilities for everyone. Come join us.
Our Growth Sectors
Aerospace And Future Transport
With a current global value of $360 billion and estimates that it could be a $2.7 trillion industry by 2050, the field of Aerospace and Future Transport holds great opportunity for the Canterbury region.
Food, Fibre And Agritech
Canterbury is New Zealand’s largest agricultural region, contributing one fifth of national agricultural GDP. The region produces meat and dairy products, plant-based products, seafood and wine for both domestic and international consumers.
Health Tech And Resilient Communities
With a centralised health precinct fostering close connection between research, testing and commercialisation, Christchurch can accelerate research into analytics and machine learning, virtual healthcare, bio-metrics & wearables and insurance tech.
High Tech Services
With an international reputation for producing the smartest service tech, Christchurch provides the best value brains to the largest companies and boasts a dynamic tech ecosystem offering excellent support for start-ups and investors.
Cleantech
Christchurch is emerging as a key player in the Cleantech sector, driving real-world solutions to global environmental challenges. With a focus on practical, sustainable technologies in areas like clean energy, carbon capture, and recycling, Christchurch is not only helping tackle climate change but also creating business opportunities and jobs in a fast-growing global market.
The Big Picture
Christchurch is positioning itself as a leader in several key sectors that have huge global growth potential. The city has built strong eco-systems around each sector, aligning and connecting students, iwi, education providers, industry, and government to accelerate opportunities and growth.
This is about a prosperous and sustainable future that encourages both innovation and collaboration.
The talent pipeline to support this is geared up and growing. Canterbury hosts three world-class university campuses in the top two per cent in the world, and the largest ITP in the South Island, offering programmes ranked in the top 100 globally.
These areas of focus are helping to shape the future of Canterbury's economy by offering top-notch opportunities for hands-on learning, career pathways, partnerships, more innovation, research and development, and attracting talented people and businesses.
Connect With Us
ChristchurchNZ’s business and investment team are a knowledgeable mix of professional, strategic thinkers with diverse skill sets. They love identifying opportunities and building relationships to make positive, impactful outcomes for both stakeholders and the city of Ōtautahi.
Emma Renowden
Emma is an experienced strategic partnerships manager who is passionate about the role of innovation and technology in addressing some of the world's most significant challenges. In her role at ChristchurchNZ, Emma is responsible for developing an ambitious city strategy for the Aerospace sector, with the goal of harnessing the economic opportunities it presents.
Hamish McGowan
Hamish’s career has been focused on commercialisation and getting innovation, research, and development into the marketplace. At ChristchurchNZ he leads the Food, Fibre and Agritech cluster connecting companies, people and teams to inspire focus and growth. Hamish brings strong communication skills to his role and especially enjoys working with market-focused professionals, technicians, engineers and scientists.
Shawn Melley
Shawn has over 23 years of experience and leadership in marketing, sales, business analytics, product development and corporate strategy. He has led commercial business units, launched multiple products into new markets, and co-founded a biotech start up. Shawn is a creative problem solver who enjoys working with businesses of all sizes to uncover areas of growth and opportunity that will help them achieve their goals
