This year's Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) has begun and Waikato woman Cheryl Reynolds is one of only nine Kiwis who was accepted into the programme, alongside 30 others from around the world. 

A lifelong fellowship that starts with a three-year programme, the aim is to build a community of visionary entrepreneurs, investors and startup teams to create positive global impact from New Zealand by helping them bring their purpose-driven ventures to life. 

“It is very much focused on challenging the status quo, building new paradigms, solving pressing global problems, and impacting the course of humanity,” Reynolds said. 

“New Zealand is a country where you can incubate ideas and then launch them to the global stage.”

Reynolds feels incredibly honoured to become an Edmund Hillary Fellow. It began in April where the 39 fellows met for the first time and spent seven days “glamping” together in Aroha Valley, near Upper Hutt. 

Reynolds says they spent their days learning in a geodesic dome and spent nights around the campfire sharing stories, knowledge, experiences and wisdom from all the different cultures and backgrounds among them. 

“It was very grounding, and such an extraordinary experience.” 

For many of the international fellows, it was their first time to New Zealand, so as a group they were introduced to Tikanga Māori, learnt about Māori history, and were taught the haka. Reynolds says that even though she has lived here for 15 years, she learnt a lot and that it was a wonderful experience. 

“It was an important way to begin the fellowship, it was the right way and values-driven,” Reynolds said. 

After the week-long retreat, they all attended New Frontiers, a three-day conference where the group kicked things off by performing the haka they had learnt, to welcome the 300 guests. 

Each fellow shared their story and heard from other global thinkers and change makers. 

The fellowship will meet up again in November however, Reynolds’ says they connect with each other almost every day online and regularly catch up in person. 

Reynolds says the timing of the fellowship could not be more perfect as she begins the journey for her next entrepreneurial venture. She currently has 11 successful ventures under her belt and has 15 years’ experience in the New Zealand’s startup scene. 

Her entrepreneurial journey began in her 20’s with her first project – Focal Point Gallery, a highly energised contemporary public art gallery, which is thriving to this day in the United Kingdom where Reynolds grew up. 

After several successful ventures in the UK including a number of social enterprises, Reynolds moved to New Zealand in 2003. She calls the Waikato home and says living in Raglan is her “paradise on Earth”. 

Reynolds has since established herself as a leading entrepreneur, founding SODA Inc as an entrepreneurship hub and award-winning startup business incubator programme. 

From SODA Inc, she also co-founded Innes48, named after the pioneering 1900s Waikato entrepreneur, Mary Jane Innes. Innes48 is a 48-hour high energy startup competition, which is the largest event of its kind in New Zealand with $15,000 in prize money up for grabs. 

More recently, Reynolds founded Momentum Waikato, a philanthropic foundation that pools donor funds and distributes grants strategically to projects that can achieve transformational 

intergenerational change in the Waikato. Momentum’s projects include the Waikato Regional Theatre, and the three social enterprise projects selected to share the Foundation’s first $1million distribution through the Vital Impact Programme. 

Reynolds left Momentum Waikato in December 2017, to begin startup venture number 12, which will combine her love of creativity, strategic philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. 

The aim is to build a new philanthropic foundation as a creative social enterprise that generates smart capital and makes it easy and rewarding for people to contribute to building a better world. She is currently in development mode and is looking for potential co-founders and digital platform partners for her new venture.

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