On the Up: ‘Emerging Company of the Year' Projectworks raises US$10m, plans AI splash
Wellington-founded start-up Projectworks is on a hot streak.
On May 23 it was named the Hi-Tech Awards 2025 'Emerging Company of the Year'.
Now it's just closed a US$10 million ($16.6m) Series A extension funding round, led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Ten Coves Capital and supported
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14 minutes ago
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Pacific News In Brief For 1 July
Article – RNZ A round-up of news from around the region, including Niue government announcing its budget for 2025. Niue – budget Health, education, social welfare and government salaries have receives a boost in the Niue government's new NZ$12.5 million (US$7.6m) deficit budget. Last week, the island's finance minister announced the largest expenditure of the government is to cover the salaries of its workforce and the cost of social services. TV Niue reported the health department gets the highest increase in this budget of more than $880,000, a 26 percent boost. Cook Islands – firearms Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has announced several new initiatives aimed at enhancing firearm regulation and safety across the Pa Enua (outer islands). Cook Islands News reported this includes the resumption of police-issued ammunition and plans to simplify the driving licensing process for tourists. Speaking in parliament, Brown confirmed that the Cook Islands Police has reinstated its role as the official supplier of ammunition to the Pa Enua. The move is expected to assist island communities in managing issues such as wild animal control. Papua New Guinea – chicken East Sepik Governor Allan Bird has raised concerns over a drop in chicken sales nationwide. Bird said the government banned the importation of frozen chicken from Australia and New Zealand with the pretext of protecting the Papua New Guinea industry from foreign competitors and diseases. He said it was a short-sighted decision and now as imported chicken stock runs out, the impact is being felt around the country. He said imported chickens retail at about 22 kina ($US5.33) per kilo, while locally produced chickens retail at about 40 kina. Bird said local chicken production will remain expensive because the chicken feed is imported and 80 per cent of the cost of producing a chicken is the feed cost. Samoa – festival A large Samoan festival – the Teuila Festival – has been cancelled this year. The festival, which features cultural performances and the Miss Samoa pageant, has been cancelled to avoid a timing clash with Samoa's general election. The Miss Samoa pageant has been rescheduled, to run from 27 October to 9 November. Fiji – ICC Fijian Nazhat Shameem Khan has been elevated to the topmost prosecutorial position at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Fiji Times reported the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC has announced that deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang have taken over leadership, following prosecutor Karim Khan KC's temporary leave of absence. In May Khan, who is British, stepped aside pending the outcome of a United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation into alleged misconduct. Nazhat Shameem Khan is a Fijian diplomat and former judge. Fiji/PNG – anniversary Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is poised to attend Papua New Guinea's 50th independence anniversary celebrations in Port Moresby on 16 September. Local media reports Rabuka praising his PNG counterpart James Marape for his leadership in strengthening the region and expressed Fiji's commitment to maintaining strong diplomatic ties with PNG. Fiji and PNG established diplomatic relations in 1975 and continue to build on their traditional, political, and economic partnership.
Scoop
18 minutes ago
- Scoop
Māngere Youth Turn Derelict Houses Into Jobs
A South Auckland leader says local rangatahi are transforming derelict homes into real opportunities, cutting waste and gaining valuable skills along the way. Tauanuu Nick Bakulich, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board chair, supports the work of the Ara Education Charitable Trust, which helps deliver local jobs, build youth skills and keep waste out of landfill. The trust receives seed funding from Auckland Council's Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund (WMIF), which backs projects that help achieve the city's zero waste goals. Through the construction skills programme, rangatahi deconstruct run-down houses, salvage usable materials and fully restore each home in about six to eight months. Once refurbished, the houses are resold and the profits fund the next rebuild. Tauanuu says the project supports sustainability and shows how old houses that might have ended up in a landfill now create real opportunities for young people. 'It aligns very well with our priorities. It's a programme that's been around for a while, and we've seen good success with students here in Māngere who've participated in it,' Tauanuu says. 'The first part is employment, which is really important for our young people. But it's also the education piece, understanding how much waste goes to landfill and what can actually be saved. "Those houses could have gone to waste or not been used at all. Now you've got young people working in them and putting them to good use instead of sending them to landfill.' Construction and demolition waste makes up more than 40 per cent of Auckland's total landfill volume. The Māngere-based trust proves that what looks like rubbish can become a fresh start and give new life to old derelict homes. Christine O'Brien, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board member, says the trust's work shows what local youth and council support can achieve together. 'I very much appreciate the Ara kaupapa and it's been great to see the Ara Rangatahi Pathways to Employment Programme on a firm footing in recent years,' O'Brien says. Through the home refurbishment programme, local rangatahi learn various skills hands-on under experienced tradespeople, she says. "I also love the fact that older houses are not demolished and added to our waste streams but are refurbished by the students. They then become great homes for people elsewhere in the country, sold on to them at no profit. Really a win-win-win.' Dr Sarah Redmond, Ara Education Charitable Trust General Manager, says council support has helped the trust invest in new tools and find ways to reuse tricky waste streams like outdated Hardie board cladding. 'Our young people become ambassadors for waste minimisation,' Redmond says. 'When something breaks down, whether here or at home, instead of thinking they'll chuck it in the bin and buy it new, they know with a bit of thought and effort they can probably fix it good as new.' Beyond houses, Ara's trainees get creative with every leftover scrap. Timber and materials are turned into furniture, plywood becomes letterboxes for community groups, and rimu and kauri are crafted into chopping boards and plaques for programme graduates. They even build weta motels for local environmental groups. Trainees de-nail timber for reuse and collect the nails for steel recycling, finding a use for almost everything that might otherwise go to waste. Mark Roberts, Auckland Council Senior Waste Planning Specialist, says the construction industry could recover far more resources with better practices. 'To make a dent in the enormous amounts of construction waste going to landfill, we need to support different ways of working and building,' Roberts says. As Auckland pushes towards its zero waste target, local leaders say community-led solutions like this show that young people can lead the way in changing the city's waste story, one rebuild at a time.
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
Pacific News In Brief For 1 July
Niue - budget Health, education, social welfare and government salaries have receives a boost in the Niue government's new NZ$12.5 million (US$7.6m) deficit budget. Last week, the island's finance minister announced the largest expenditure of the government is to cover the salaries of its workforce and the cost of social services. TV Niue reported the health department gets the highest increase in this budget of more than $880,000, a 26 percent boost. Cook Islands - firearms Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown has announced several new initiatives aimed at enhancing firearm regulation and safety across the Pa Enua (outer islands). Cook Islands News reported this includes the resumption of police-issued ammunition and plans to simplify the driving licensing process for tourists. Speaking in parliament, Brown confirmed that the Cook Islands Police has reinstated its role as the official supplier of ammunition to the Pa Enua. The move is expected to assist island communities in managing issues such as wild animal control. Papua New Guinea - chicken East Sepik Governor Allan Bird has raised concerns over a drop in chicken sales nationwide. Bird said the government banned the importation of frozen chicken from Australia and New Zealand with the pretext of protecting the Papua New Guinea industry from foreign competitors and diseases. He said it was a short-sighted decision and now as imported chicken stock runs out, the impact is being felt around the country. He said imported chickens retail at about 22 kina ($US5.33) per kilo, while locally produced chickens retail at about 40 kina. Bird said local chicken production will remain expensive because the chicken feed is imported and 80 per cent of the cost of producing a chicken is the feed cost. Samoa - festival A large Samoan festival - the Teuila Festival - has been cancelled this year. The festival, which features cultural performances and the Miss Samoa pageant, has been cancelled to avoid a timing clash with Samoa's general election. The Miss Samoa pageant has been rescheduled, to run from 27 October to 9 November. Fiji - ICC Fijian Nazhat Shameem Khan has been elevated to the topmost prosecutorial position at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Fiji Times reported the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC has announced that deputy prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang have taken over leadership, following prosecutor Karim Khan KC's temporary leave of absence. In May Khan, who is British, stepped aside pending the outcome of a United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation into alleged misconduct. Nazhat Shameem Khan is a Fijian diplomat and former judge. Fiji/PNG - anniversary Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is poised to attend Papua New Guinea's 50th independence anniversary celebrations in Port Moresby on 16 September. Local media reports Rabuka praising his PNG counterpart James Marape for his leadership in strengthening the region and expressed Fiji's commitment to maintaining strong diplomatic ties with PNG. Fiji and PNG established diplomatic relations in 1975 and continue to build on their traditional, political, and economic partnership.
