Māori Excellence Celebrated at 2024 Hi-Tech Awards

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Māori contributions to New Zealand’s thriving technology sector were honoured on Friday night at the 2024 Hi-Tech Awards, held at Spark Arena in front of an audience of 1,300 attendees.

Tech leader Elle Archer (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tūhoe) received the prestigious Hi-Tech Inspiring Individual Award. A respected figure in business, governance, and technology, Archer currently serves as Chair of Te Matarau – The Māori Tech Association and the Waitaha Digital Equity Committee.

The Hi-Tech Kamupene Māori o te Tau – Māori Company of the Year award went to Envico Technologies, a trailblazer in automated drone solutions for conservation and biosecurity.

To qualify for this award, companies must be New Zealand-founded and headquartered, with a strong Māori identity—evident through majority Māori ownership, shareholding, iwi affiliation, team composition, and overall vision.

This year’s finalists were standout innovators:

• Blink Pay Global, advancing open banking in Aotearoa
• KRY10, a cybersecurity firm protecting connected devices
• Envico Technologies, whose drone-based conservation technologies ultimately claimed the top prize

Envico was recognised for its integration of diverse expertise—including aviation, engineering, geology, and ecology—to help achieve New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 goals. Notably, in 2018, the then-emerging company undertook a groundbreaking mission in the Galapagos Islands. Using preprogrammed drones, they successfully dispersed bait to combat a rat infestation threatening seabird populations—marking a global first in precision drone deployment for conservation.

Driven by a deep respect for Aotearoa’s native species, Envico continues to develop pioneering technologies such as advanced seed pods, pest-specific toxins safe for native fauna, ground-based control tools, and a fleet of specialist drones.

“We’re able to integrate the rich wisdom of Mātauranga Māori with conventional science,” said co-founder and CEO Cameron Baker in a January interview with the Wonder Project.

Envico’s approach to conservation begins with local ecological insights and is built on collaborative partnerships with communities both in Aotearoa and around the world.