Christchurch, New Zealand — February 2026
We have some exciting news to share: Alimentary Systems has been selected as a Regional Finalist in the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Oceania competition.
Out of more than 30,000 nominations worldwide, across 150+ countries and 12 regions, we've been shortlisted to represent New Zealand on the global stage. The GSA is the world's largest independent startup ecosystem competition, and making it to the regional finals means we're being recognised among the best innovators in the Asia-Pacific region.
This is a significant milestone for our team — and we'd love your help to take it further.
What We're Building (And Why It Matters)
For those new to Alimentary Systems: we're solving one of the most overlooked infrastructure challenges in the developed world.
New Zealand has over 1,000 wastewater treatment facilities. Many rely on aging sludge ponds that leak methane into the atmosphere, contaminate waterways, and cost ratepayers millions in disposal fees. It's the same story across the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and beyond — wastewater infrastructure designed decades ago for a different era.
We've developed a modular anaerobic digestion system that transforms sewage sludge and organic waste into three valuable outputs: renewable biogas for energy, nutrient-rich biofertiliser for farmland, and verified carbon credits for international markets. Instead of treating waste as a problem to be buried, we treat it as a feedstock for a circular economy.
Our technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 57–94% below 2030 forecasts, and our unit economics work at the scale of a single town — not just at mega-city levels. We've demonstrated our compliance framework at the United Nations in New York, represented New Zealand at the UNDP Archipelagic and Island States Forum in Indonesia, and built partnerships with waste management leaders across Australasia.
We're headquartered in Christchurch with manufacturing in India, a global advisory board, and active opportunities across the Pacific Islands, South Korea, Indonesia, and Japan. Our co-founders — Matthew Jackson and Harmaan Madon — are Edmund Hillary Fellows, and the company has been supported through the CHQ Climate Accelerator and the Ministry of Awesome's Orion programme.
Why Public Voting Matters — A Lot
Here's the part where you come in.
The GSA selection process combines jury scoring with public votes. Public voting counts for 25% of the total score — the equivalent weight of an entire jury member. The finalist with the most public votes also automatically wins the People's Choice Award, regardless of jury scores.
Every single vote shifts the dial.
Regional winners advance to the Global Grand Finale in Valletta, Malta on May 7–8, 2026. That event brings together over 2,500 attendees — including 300 investors, 1,200 startup founders, and delegations from 100+ countries. It's hosted within the EU-Startups Summit, one of Europe's flagship innovation events. For a New Zealand cleantech company raising capital and building international partnerships, this kind of exposure is transformative.
How to Vote (30 Seconds)
- Click here to vote: YOUR VOTING LINK
- Follow the on-screen steps — you'll need to verify with your email (one vote per person)
- Done. That's it.
If you can share the link with one or two people in your network who care about climate tech, circular economy, or New Zealand innovation — even better.
Why This Matters Beyond the Award
We'll be honest: awards are nice, but what really matters is what they unlock.
A GSA win puts Alimentary Systems in front of the right investors, partners, and policymakers at a critical moment. We're in the middle of our seed raise. We're finalising our first commercial installation. And we're building the software platform that will let any government in the world track the carbon credit value of decentralised waste-to-energy networks.
Your vote isn't just a click. It's a signal that New Zealand's cleantech ecosystem is worth paying attention to — and that turning waste into energy isn't a future idea. It's happening now.
[Vote here: YOUR VOTING LINK]
From the entire Alimentary Systems team — Matthew, Harmaan, and the crew — thank you. We'll keep you posted as the competition progresses.
Tag us when you share: @GlobalStartupAwards #globalstartupawards #gsapv2025 #cleantech #wastetorenergy #circulareconomy #NewZealand #AlimentarySystems