The Icehouse

General information

We believe in the extraordinary potential of New Zealand business owners and entrepreneurs. We enable their success through knowledge, connection and investment.

New Zealand is a country of small and medium-sized businesses. The Icehouse was founded in 2001 in recognition of the importance of this sector to the NZ economy. We’re committed to creating a high performing New Zealand economy where ideas and businesses thrive. We believe that to unleash the economic potential, we need to lift the capabilities and aspirations of owners, entrepreneurs and people who run startup and SME businesses to enable them to take the business forward.

Since 2001, we have worked with over 5,000 ambitious owner-managers and entrepreneurs. On average our established businesses grow revenue by 12% every year, meaning they grow 2.5x faster than the average NZ business. Our startups have collectively created over 900 jobs, raised more than $117m in funding and have generated over $325m in revenue.

The Icehouse is owned by a not-for-profit trust and backed by the financial support and expertise of the New Zealand government and an extensive group of committed partners that includes: AJ Park, Bank of New Zealand, Deloitte Private, HP New Zealand, Microsoft New Zealand, Spark, Visa and our founder The University of Auckland Business School.