Feijoa has pitched as one of 12 finalists at the Startup World Cup New Zealand Final, hosted by Creative HQ in Wellington last night, putting its simple and secure round-up model in front of a judging panel and a room of investors, founders and industry leaders.

Feijoa rounds up everyday purchases and automatically invests the spare change into an investment, currently KiwiSaver accounts with new destinations coming soon. Active users are collectively contributing around $3.7 million to their KiwiSaver balances, projected to grow to $175 million by the time they retire.

“There’s real pride in being a finalist alongside founders that are building everything from green hydrogen production, neurological treatment or pet cancer immunotherapy. It’s a strong signal for where New Zealand innovation is headed, and confirmation that Feijoa is solving a real savings problem in a way that holds up against the best in the country.” says Mark White-Robinson, Feijoa Co-Founder.

“A huge congratulations to Neumic Therapeutics Ltd - we wish them every success as they prepare to take their pitch to San Francisco later this year.”
Feijoa is working to close New Zealand’s savings gap in a way that works with existing spending behaviour.

“We see the low levels of KiwiSaver contributions and balances, especially by self-employed Kiwis or those outside of the traditional employment system, as a design problem, not a willpower one. And we believe that by using technology and simple tools we can help to make the effort of wealth building disappear,“ says Mark.

Mark says the results Feijoa’s users are seeing through round-ups alone affirms what is possible. “It’s early proof that this works, and we’re excited about the solutions we are currently working on to expand our wealth automaton platform - making it safe and frictionless for all Kiwis to build a brighter financial future.”

Feijoa’s participation caps a period of recognition for the fintech, following its recent Audience Choice win at the Kiwibank Start Up Pitch Breakfast at the FinTechNZ Hui.

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