A $30,000 reward from two former College of Auckland college students will help the subsequent technology of entrepreneurs on the New Zealand college.
Alliv Samson and Hengjie Wang first teamed up on a campus group undertaking that went on to grow to be a serious worldwide success. Now, as a thanks, they’ve established the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Alumni Fund. It’s going to help the College’s startup program Velocity, and different initiatives, for extra college students to pursue their startup ambitions for gratis.
From classroom idea to ed-tech success
Samson and Wang’s training know-how firm, Kami, was first conceived on the uni in 2012. She was learning arts, and Wang, engineering.
Their thought – an all-in-one platform constructed to avoid wasting academics time and enhance studying outcomes – was developed by means of the Velocity $100,000 Problem and grew into one thing a lot larger.
In 2022,TIME named it one of many world’s most influential firms following speedy development and widespread classroom adoption. In 2025, Wang and Samson gained the EY Entrepreneur of the Yr.
Kami now helps over 70 million customers throughout 180 international locations.
Serving to different startups
The duo established the CIE Alumni Fund to present again to the system that supported their early success, offering a proper pathway for like-minded alumni to reinvest within the programmes that nurture the subsequent technology of innovators.
Samson and Wang’s household workplace, Hiraya Ventures, invests in early to growth-stage Kiwi firms with world potential, combining capital with operational expertise. The identify Hiraya, drawn from Filipino, displays a deal with enabling formidable concepts to grow to be actuality.
Samson mentioned giving again to the ecosystem that enabled Kami’s development was one of many key causes they based Hiraya.
“As Velocity offered the spark that turned our pupil undertaking into a world enterprise, supporting the College’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship was a no brainer,” she mentioned.
“It’s our method of making certain the subsequent technology of formidable Kiwi entrepreneurs have the help they should flip their boldest desires into actuality.”
Ongoing help
In 2025, CIE supported greater than 8,000 people throughout its programmes and actions, with demand persevering with to develop throughout colleges and disciplines.
CIE Director Darsel Keane mentioned the $30,000 reward alerts a shift in how the College’s innovation ecosystem is supported.
“We’re deeply grateful for this contribution, which establishes the inspiration for a fund that others can contribute to. It creates a method for individuals who have benefited from innovation and entrepreneurship on the College to help the subsequent technology coming by means of,” she mentioned.
“The fund creates a place to begin for a extra related alumni community, the place expertise, capital and mentorship can flow into again into the College.”
The CIE Alumni Fund will start supporting applications this 12 months.
