Local roots, global impact: Our journey at the 2026 Gold Awards

This week members of the Silverstripe team gathered at the Embassy Theatre in Pōneke for the 2026 Gold Awards gala ceremony. Surrounded by a diverse community of visionary organisations all pushing boundaries from the capital, the night highlighted the depth of talent and innovation right on our doorstep.

As our CEO, Sigurd, noted: "What stood out for me was seeing how wonderful it is to see diverse Wellington businesses doing so well."

We were proud to be named finalists in the Pertronic Technology Gold - Digital Creators category. It was a privilege to share the stage with brilliant local businesses that are actively shaping the tech landscape. Congratulations to all our fellow finalists — Autohive AI, Koan, PaySauce — and a massive mihi to Snapper Services for taking home the award!

You can learn more about the category and read about the other nominees on the Wellington Gold Awards website(opens in new tab).

Having won the Tech Gold Award in 2025, we were thrilled to be selected as finalists for a second year in a row. This placement recognises our team's work and commitment over the past 12 months, where we shifted focus toward global impact. Through DPI Connect and our collaboration with AWS, we took homegrown Wellington innovation to the world stage — helping accelerate the technical resilience of nations as a player in the global Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) movement.

Key milestones from this defining year include:

• Delivering MyMzansi—South Africa’s single digital front door to essential services.

• Deploying AI tools to support our developers, increasing our delivery efficiency and capabilities.

Even as our work increasingly operates on a nation-scale halfway around the world, our headquarters remain firmly rooted here in Wellington; last night served as a potent reminder of why we are so proud to be based here in the great city of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. It’s also a direct testament to our people, who remain at the absolute centre of everything we do.

Before the winners are announced, the gala audience gets a quick look at each finalist's mahi.

To see the snapshot we shared on the big screen, you can watch our 30-second finalist video: