4. What’s Working And What’s Missing in New Zealand Right Now

Being clear-eyed about what we’ve got

This article is part of our Rethinking SME Support series, where we’re exploring how Central & Local Government, Economic Development Agencies, Chambers of Commerce and Business Associations could better support NZ’s SME community through collaboration, fairness and  a new mindset. This is not about blame. It’s about possibility and how we can build a more connected, human, regenerative support ecosystem.

In the last article in this series, we explored six global pillars of effective SME support and what lessons they might offer us here in Aotearoa. This week, we turn our focus inward.

At RegenerationHQ, we believe it’s important to start any change conversation with realism and respect. There is no value in sweeping statements of “everything is broken” nor in pretending that all is well.

The truth, as we hear it from both SME owners and ecosystem players, is this -
👉 Parts of New Zealand’s SME support landscape are working well.
👉 Parts are not.
👉 And in many areas, the potential for better collaboration is enormous.

In this article, we want to offer a grounded, constructive look at -

• What’s working now

• What’s missing

• Where we see opportunities to evolve

What’s Working

Through our work across the SME community and with many parts of the support ecosystem, here are some of the bright spots we see -

✅ Deep care and commitment from people in the system.
Across Central Govt, Local Govt, EDAs, Chambers, business associations we consistently meet people who genuinely care about helping business owners. This human intent is a critical foundation.

✅ High-quality relational advisory work in some places.
Where long-standing relationships exist between advisors and SME owners particularly in well-resourced EDAs or local networks we see great outcomes. Business owners value continuity of relationship far more than transactional support.

✅ Effective peer-based learning initiatives.
Some of the strongest capability shifts we see happen through peer groups, business clusters, sector networks and  Māori and Pasifika enterprise collectives where owners can learn from each other, not just from experts.

✅ Impact finance innovation.
While early-stage, we are seeing encouraging experimentation around impact investing, Māori impact finance and revenue-based finance models offering more inclusive pathways for certain business types.

✅ Recognition of the wellbeing challenge.
Mental wellbeing support for SME owners is starting to gain traction with initiatives like First Steps NZ leading the way. This is a welcome shift toward more human-centred support.

What’s Missing - The Big Gaps

Despite these strengths, we also see clear gaps in the system many of which owners raise repeatedly -

🚩 Fragmentation and duplication.
The support landscape often feels like a maze with overlapping programmes, confusing branding and limited behind-the-scenes coordination. Business owners are often sent in circles.

🚩 Equity gaps.
Support is not equally accessible or relevant to all business owners. Māori, Pasifika, women-led, migrant and refugee-owned businesses often face higher barriers not because of intent, but because system design does not sufficiently account for diversity.

🚩 Limited flexibility for different business journeys.
Too much support remains transactional and programme-driven rather than responsive to the stage, sector, or aspirations of individual businesses.

🚩 Funding misalignment.
Many parts of the system are funded to deliver activity, not outcomes. This drives volume over quality and reduces the space for relational, regenerative support work.

🚩 Low system trust.
Many business owners approach government-funded support with low trust often based on previous experiences of disconnection, complexity, or transactional treatment. Rebuilding trust must be a core priority.

What’s Changing and What’s at Risk

As we write this series, the NZ SME support landscape is shifting again -

• Changes in Callaghan and NZTE settings

• The emergence of the Small Business Collective

• Local Govt funding pressures

• Chamber resourcing shifts

• Ongoing debate over the role and funding of EDAs

This is a moment of both risk and opportunity.

The risk - further fragmentation, duplication and  competition for limited funding with owners caught in the middle.

The opportunity - a more connected, collaborative, regenerative approach where each part of the system plays to its strengths and business owners experience the support ecosystem as seamless and human.

What We’re Hearing From Owners

Across the country, here’s what SME owners consistently tell us they want from the system -

✅ Clearer navigation “tell me who can really help me”
✅ Less duplication “stop making me tell my story five times”
✅ More relationship, less transaction “help me build trust with a small number of trusted people”
✅ Better fit for my business type “don’t make me feel like an edge case”
✅ Support for me as a leader “recognise that my wellbeing matters too”
✅ Respect for my time and knowledge “don’t treat me like a beginner if I’m not”

The Opportunity Ahead

We believe NZ has an incredible opportunity right now to evolve the SME support system toward something more fit for the future.

That will require -
✅ Greater behind-the-scenes collaboration across agencies and actors
✅ More relational advisory capacity not just more programmes
✅ Smarter, more flexible finance pathways
✅ Equity-first design not bolt-on initiatives
✅ A shift toward systems leadership, not institutional self-interest
✅ Embedding compassion, fairness and  regenerative thinking at every level

A Closing Word

At RegenerationHQ, we believe no part of the system can do this alone and no part of the system is “the problem”.

The opportunity is collective. The mindset shift required is shared.

If we can move from fragmentation to collaboration and  from programme thinking to human-centred support, we can build a support system that truly honours the diversity, creativity and  resilience of NZ’s SME community.

In the next article, we’ll look outward again to practical innovations we could adapt from around the world and how we might bring them to life here.

We hope you’ll stay with us.

Stay Connected

If you’d like to follow this series and be part of the conversation about building a better SME support system for Aotearoa, here’s how to get hold of us –

📞 Phone +64 275 665 682
✉️ Email john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz
🌐 Contact Form www.regenerationhq.co.nz/contact

If you’d like to read more RegenerationHQ thinking on SME business and other things, go here – www.regenerationhq.co.nz/articlesoverview

🔹 RegenerationHQ Ltd - Business Problems Solved Sensibly.
Supporting NZ SME Owners to Exit Well, Lead Better and Build Business Value.

Coming next in the series -
👉 Global Ideas We Could Adapt Practical Innovations for NZ