Partnering with Aotearoa NZ for Global Impact

The Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) is a community of 500+ innovators, entrepreneurs and investors committed to New Zealand as a basecamp for global impact.

Our purpose is to partner with Aotearoa NZ to find and build solutions to our toughest challenges. Our vision is that Aotearoa inspires global leadership and solutions for future generations, built on principles of Tangata Tiriti and values of Sir Edmund Hillary.

Together, we are driving change for a better future for our planet and people.

Our Fellows are Building and Leading World-Changing Organisations

Here are just a few…

From more than 50 different countries including New Zealand, Fellows span a range of high-value sectors seeking to make a meaningful impact in Aotearoa with projects, ventures and system-change with global application. These include:

Our Fellows Are Leading Global Change - Right Here From Aotearoa

Local Solutions. Global Applications.
Film, Media, and Storytelling
Aerospace and Transport
Investment and Venture Capital
Māori and Pasifika led Initiatives
Web3, Metaverse & Blockchain
Education and Youth Leadership
Governance & Policy Change
Consumer Software & IT
Regenerative Agriculture and Food
Climate Action and Renewable Energy

What is the Edmund Hillary Fellowship?

EHF was designed to attract to Aotearoa NZ, world-changing innovators, entrepreneurs and investors to collectively solve pressing issues facing humanity, through a globally unique visa programme. Today, the Fellowship is a community of 500+ people from New Zealand and around the world who are tackling local and global challenges, from climate change to social inequities to business growth and productivity.

As an organisation, EHF is the convenor of the Fellowship, enabling Fellows to catalyse change together through cultural induction to Aotearoa, creating connections into the innovation ecosystem, and providing opportunities for Fellows to collaborate.

Built to Empower Changemakers

The Global Impact Visa (GIVs) is the world’s first immigration policy focused on creating positive global impact. Through a partnership with Immigration New Zealand, the GIV was designed to enable Edmund Hillary Fellows to catalyse real change from Aotearoa.

The World’s Most Entrepreneur-Friendly Visa

Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) as the founding constitutional document of Aotearoa New Zealand, we partner with Te Ātiawa Taranaki Whānui to welcome and culturally induct Fellows to Aotearoa. 


We also partner with organisations and groups from across New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem, including iwi, incubators, industry bodies, regional agencies, and Government, including Immigration NZ, and MBIE.

Partnering with Aotearoa for Impact

A lifelong dedicated humanitarian, the spirit of Sir Edmund Hillary lives within us

EHF was created in the spirit and memory of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mount Everest, alongside Tenzing Norgay. Our work is not about us, but about those we serve. EHF Fellows are encouraged to push boundaries, embrace creativity, challenge assumptions, and create transformative solutions.

Impact in Action

From a School in Canterbury to Outer Space. It’s All About Impact.

From climate action to transformational technologies, we have 500+ Fellows creating tangible impact all across the globe, revolutionising industries, redesigning systems and generating meaningful change for people and planet.