Earlier in 2017, the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) put out a call to visionary entrepreneurs and investors tackling pressing global challenges to develop solutions from New Zealand. Hundreds applied, and 30 entrepreneurs and investors successfully joined the EHF inaugural cohort.

International Fellows receive exclusive access to New Zealand’s Global Impact Visa (GIVs) — the most entrepreneur-friendly visa in the world and the first to focus on impact. GIVs is a three-year open work visa with a path for permanent residency, and FastCompany awarded the programme as finalist in their World Changing Ideas for 2017.

EHF is bringing together humankind’s creative potential and entrepreneurial spirit in New Zealand, to build innovative ventures for global impact. New Zealand is well positioned to be the Incubation Nation to bring transformative and globally impactful innovations to life.

We are currently looking for bold entrepreneurs and teams who want to build transformative products and services from New Zealand, along with visionary, experienced investors and influencers who can support high-impact entrepreneurs and the New Zealand startup ecosystem.

This is the final chance to join our second cohort — Apply by October 1.

EHF Fellows

EHF Fellows are working on frontier innovations that can create positive global impact. By joining EHF, they are becoming part of a diverse global community of changemakers, to collaborate, grow, and create integrated solutions. They join EHF as individuals pursuing bold goals, yet their collective strength comes in the community, as they bring diverse lenses to teach and support one another in their collective pursuit of a better world, from New Zealand.

Here are a few of our Fellows pushing boundaries in their respective industries.

Fred Ehrsam

Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency repository in the world, and is driven to create an open and decentralised web from New Zealand. Fred joined EHF to create a global model for blockchain regulation in New Zealand, due to its history being forward-leaning, nimble, technology-savvy, and open to new ideas.

“New Zealand has a chance to lead the world in the blockchain space — while international financial regulators have shown some openness to blockchain innovation, no country has really given blockchain entrepreneurs solid ground to stand on, particularly those who are creating new tokens.” — Fred Ehrsam

Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom, Eric Dahlstrom and Rich Bodo

Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom with her co-founders Eric Dahlstrom and Rich Bodo have long been at the frontier of space exploration and open source technologies. Collectively, they bring decades of experience with NASA, helping design the International Space Station, supporting the founding of the International Space University (ISU), and developing the curriculum at Singularity University. They are on a mission to create a sustainable and democratised global space industry from New Zealand.

“For all individuals to be given equal opportunity, not just the affluent and developed world, but for emerging nations to develop and take advantage of a bright future, is the only true path to an abundant and space-faring species. By leveraging exponential technologies that are now available to everyone, anywhere, the opportunity belongs to everyone.” — Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom

Audrey Tan

Audrey Tan co-founded Angels of Impact, a platform to serve impact businesses, corporates, conscious funders and consumers, to work together to support women-led businesses to alleviate poverty. Through her financing platform, she identifies impact businesses and match them with funders to provide the capital they need to grow and scale.

“Data has shown that investing in women creates a ripple effect that further enables their families, workplaces and communities. It’s about time we see women as key to ending poverty. With the inspiring female social entrepreneurs that we work with, we see how their sphere of influence extends to their communities and makes an exponential difference in the lives of the producers and farmers they work with.” — Audrey Tan

Rod Oram

Rod Oram is a leading business journalist and author focused on helping New Zealand lead in innovation to build a regenerative economy. He helps connect dots, synthesise complex topics from across different disciplines, and paints a roadmap for bold ideas to become reality in New Zealand.

“As a business journalist, I seek to shed light on how we can achieve unprecedented speed, scale and complexity of change. Doing so, we will ensure humankind lives well and sustainably with the planet. I remain hungry for change and growth.” — Rod Oram

Anne-Marie Brook

Anne-Marie Brook is creating the first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries. Her vision for the Human Rights Measurement Initiative is to reinvent the way human rights data are produced and used, in order to help inspire more ethical behaviour by states and other actors, change paradigms and create a better world.

“There are billions of people who — right now — don’t have sufficient access to basic human fundamentals like food, education, health care, or who live in a country where they can’t say what they think, or advocate for change, for fear of jeopardising the safety of themselves or their families. This is what a lack of enjoyment of human rights looks like.” — Anne-Marie Brook

Scott Nolan

Scott Nolan is partner at Founders Fund, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capital funds. After already investing in Kiwi volumetric VR content company 8i, Scott is looking for new opportunities to help grow the local startup ecosystem and support relentless entrepreneurs.

“I’m focused on investing capital into the companies I believe will make the biggest impact, and then working with those teams on strategy and execution. It’s an intrinsic motivation I’ve always had, fuelled by a core belief that making things better for those in your life and the world at large is the best use of the time and resources we’re all given.” — Scott Nolan

Francesca Pick

Francesca Pick has been building a community of innovators and activists in Europe working on emerging paradigms such as collaborative economies, open source, zero waste, and experiments in decentralised technologies using blockchain. She’s teaming up with the Enspiral Network to build software tools for collaborative finance, with the aim of shifting cultures and change organisational behaviour.

“How can we expect to distribute power in organisations and society as a whole, if we don’t also change how we make financial decisions and allocate resources?” — Francesca Pick

Rafael Corrales

Rafael Corrales is partner at Charles River Ventures (CRV) and actively looks to invest in authentic startup founders with a deep desire to change the world. He is typically the very first to look into a new company and loves the journey of helping build something from nothing.

“My mission is to be the venture capitalist I always wish I had — what I mean is that I try to take the best elements of all the angel investors and venture capitalists who backed my company, and try to incorporate all of that into myself.” — Rafael Corrales

Jodi Gustafson

Jodi Gustafson hails from Canada’s Sub-Arctic Yukon Territory, and investigates alternative economic development paradigms modelled on international Indigenous values, which typically adopt less-siloed approaches to addressing environmental, economic and social wellbeing. Being partly of Indigenous descent on her mom’s side, Jodi places great importance on recognising the innate value in the approach of many First Nations communities to plan for the wellbeing of the next seven generations.

“In many cultures, knowledge and values reinforcing a reliance on natural resources and a deeply-rooted responsibility to protect and care for the environment were passed from generation to generation. Such knowledge and values hold immense worth that we need to increasingly embrace globally to lead to more beneficial outcomes for us all.” — Jodi Gustafson

Andrew Hoppin

Andrew Hoppin is an angel investor focused on civic technology. His interests are at the intersection of decentralised, open-source tools, including blockchain, to build better systems for civil service. As the Chief Information Officer of the New York Senate, he led the publishing of the first-ever government code repository on Github, and becoming the first US legislature to adopt Creative Commons copyright.

“Whether in the richest country in the world or the poorest, when our governments don’t work, people suffer, and our profound potential creativity as humans is undermined. A generation of audacious civic and govtech entrepreneurs, teamed with courageous innovators in our civil service, are needed to prototype truly novel approaches to making our governments work radically better for more people.” — Andrew Hoppin

Kaye-Maree Dunn

Kaye-Maree Dunn is an entrepreneur, bridge-builder, and facilitator who uses her commitment to kaupapa Māori and holistic principles to develop scalable models of indigenous empowerment. She is leading the way in systemic change in New Zealand, and collaborating with diverse communities to bring bold local solutions to life.

“Whanaungatanga — building relationships — is critical to understanding our shared history, the history of this whenua and how this can strengthen our bonds with each other.” — Kaye-Maree Dunn

Daniel Price

Daniel Price is an activist, entrepreneur, and scientist tackling climate change through sustainable fashion, repurposing waste fabrics and turning them into cool hats. He leverages storytelling, guerrilla marketing and persistence to educate populations about sustainable living and rebranding what we consider to be waste materials.

“There are no points for second place in this race. In fact, there are no prizes at all. If we do not get smart quickly the only result is a planetary climate system that is incompatible with a stable modern society.” — Daniel Price

Sonya Renee Taylor

Sonya Renee Taylor is a leading poet, storyteller, entrepreneur and activist who has created a rapidly growing online platform encouraging radical self love and acceptance. She has built a global education company, The Body Is Not An Apology, that helps communities address systemic social injustices and challenges.

“We cannot do the important work of transforming the world, without transforming the way that we view ourselves. How can we fix the world’s problems, when we aren’t even able to fully accept ourselves?” — Sonya Renee Taylor

Topaz Adizes

Topaz Adizes is producer of an Emmy-Award winning documentary film ‘THE AND’, providing a rarely experienced glimpse into the depth and complexity of human connection and relationships. He leverages interactive media to bring humans closer together towards what he calls the “Consciousness of Us.”

“Imagine a searchable visceral catalogue of human experience from around the world that can answer any question or dilemma you may have. We are building a tool that harnesses our collective experiences of living on this planet.” — Topaz Adizes

Explore many more of our Fellows’ stories on our blog!

Remember applications for cohort 2 close 1st October. Apply here.

Are you a visionary entrepreneur or investor building solutions to global challenges? You can bring your vision to reality from New Zealand by joining Edmund Hillary Fellowship. If you enjoyed this story, please give us some claps. Just like real applause, you can clap more than once. 😉