Business Mentors New Zealand

Twelve months alongside a volunteer mentor to test an idea and build a business plan.

Closes

Open — register any time

Who can apply

People with a new business idea, or who want help getting a new business off the ground. Also open to existing small businesses.

Amount

One-off registration fee of $295 + GST. The mentoring itself is volunteered

Funding route

Partnership or co-investment

Applicants

Individuals & whānau, Businesses & land trusts

Before you apply

Not funding, and there is a one-off registration fee rather than it being free. Listed because of what it produces: over twelve months a volunteer mentor works alongside you to test your thinking, step through a feasibility assessment and build a robust business plan.

That is the artifact Poutama, MWDI and Work and Income all require before they will fund anything, and unlike the Te Wānanga o Aotearoa certificate it does not need a Level 3 qualification or 28 hours a week.

Mentors are experienced business people who have done it themselves. An independent national service for the small business sector, so it reaches people the Regional Business Partner Network cannot — RBP requires you to be trading already, this does not.

Official source →

Checked 16 September 2026

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Details change without notice. Check the funder's own page before you apply. Tōku Waka does not administer, assess or award this funding.