Te Papa’s Mahuki seeking next generation ideas

29 March 2017

Te Papa’s Mahuki seeking next generation ideas for the culture sector

Te Papa launches the 2017 programme for Mahuki, the museum’s innovation hub, on Monday 10 April.

Applications for the residential programme, which saw seven companies secure business opportunities with Te Papa in 2016, open on 3 April.

Te Papa is seeking applicants from across New Zealand, and Mahuki General Manager Tui Te Hau is running a series of Mahuki Roadshows across the country over the next few weeks.

This year Mahuki will again recruit ten companies to develop the next generation of businesses for the culture, heritage and learning sectors.

Ms Te Hau says they are looking for applications from companies or individuals who are working at the cutting edge of technology across experience, museum or creative enterprise and learning innovation.

“Mahuki is an incredibly successful innovation incubation programme that can develop a seed or startup company into the next 8i,” she says.

“We’re open to all ideas and innovations from applicants. At Mahuki we want to explore and experiment.”

Mahuki entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to work with Te Papa's experts and collections. They will work on real-world culture sector challenges, informed by Te Papa's experience as a global leader in cultural experiences.

“As part of the Mahuki programme, entrepreneurs have Te Papa in its entirety at their fingertips. At any moment they can walk through the doors and engage with the 1.8m visitors we have every year,” she says.

The residential programme is based at Te Papa and begins in late July. Applications are open to entrepreneurs from across New Zealand.

Te Papa Chief Digital Officer Melissa Firth says the potential value of the international cultural sector to New Zealand based entrepreneurs and innovators is significant.

“There are 75,000 museums around the world with over 1 billion annual visitors. Mahuki can help develop some of the incredible innovation ideas coming out of New Zealand, giving us the opportunity to enhance experiences not only at Te Papa but at cultural institutions around the world,” Ms Firth says.

Mahuki aims to build on New Zealand’s strength in creative industries, alongside a rapidly growing technology sector, to boost opportunity for local creative technology businesses.

Ms Firth says Te Papa’s global reputation for innovation, and recognition as a world leader has been a huge asset to Mahuki’s offshore programme.

“During their time at Te Papa, the companies have the chance to validate their ideas with an international market. This is vital for the research and development of their concepts,” she says.

With its first year completed, Ms Firth says Mahuki has proven that there is demand for an accelerator programme focused on the culture and heritage sector. “Mahuki offers very real pathways to national and international customers in the cultural sector,” she says.

In 2016, Te Papa engaged seven business concepts developed at Mahuki, for deployment within the museum.

Wellington based company Breadcrumb used their time in Mahuki to develop a location intelligence platform combining hardware and software that can pinpoint visitor’s location within 10cm accuracy. This can be used to develop new visitor experiences, gain insights about visitor preferences and help make resourcing decisions.

Breadcrumb have attracted international interest and are looking to grow into the China market where the culture sector is targeted to grow to 5% of the China’s GDP.

Breadcrumb founder Lifeng Zhu believes the Mahuki programme has helped the team solidify their market opportunity.

“During the Mahuki programme we were able to talk with Te Papa staff and pilot our technology on the museum floor. This has helped us build a valuable product that Te Papa and other cultural entities want,” says Mr Zhu.

Over the next few weeks Te Papa’s team are taking Mahuki across the country with a series of Roadshows and an open home at Te Papa in Wellington.

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