CODE Announces Pay-it-Forward Mentorship Programme

CODE introduces new Mentorship programme as part of Grant reception to help share knowledge between teams.

Pictured (L-R): Anna Barham - Balancing Monkey Games; Cait Stewart - Lesser Key Studios,; Jenn Sandercock - Consultant/Producer

Over the past four years, CODE has connected with a large community of game studios at various stages of their learning journeys. As CODE’s programmes and systems of support have grown and developed over time, the CODE team has seen huge benefits when teams help each other through sharing their learnings and experiences. 

Be it sharing on marketing trends, helping with technical challenges, or offering advice on the contents of grant applications, the culture of sharing information is one of the things that makes the New Zealand games scene so highly praised and helps kiwi studios flourish. 

It’s with this in mind that CODE is introducing a new addition into their KickStart and StartUp Grant requirements:

Pay-it-Forward Mentorships. 

There are already several teams who have been gracious with their time in helping other studios, and CODE wants to officially fold this into its kaupapa. With the understanding that CODE grantee teams are in a busy time when they receive a grant, the CODE team has taken careful consideration in this programmes to ensure that these mentorships are flexible and achievable.

Pictured: Fnife Games and Lesser Key Studios

Pay-It-Forward Mentorship includes:

• Teams who have received a KickStart Grant will donate up to 2 hours of mentorship

• Teams who have received a StartUp Grant will donate up to 8 hours of mentorship

• Grantees can be asked to do mentorship for things like Business Development, Marketing, Technical skills (Programming, Design, Art, QA, etc), or CODE Grant application advice

• Grantees can be asked to donate their mentorship either during their Grant milestones, or up to two years after they have been acquitted from their grant. 

CODE staff will work with the grantee studios to find a time that isn't too intrusive to the studio’s time lines, as it would be counter productive to demand time at critical points like shipping windows or close to publisher deadlines. The CODE team will also help identify skills and strengths possessed by the grantees that can be shared, and coordinate team matches for the mentorship.

If any previous grantees are interested in sharing their knowledge and donating their time to be a mentor for a Pay-It-Forward Mentorship, it would be very welcome! Please contact your Regional Content Manager and they will work out the details.

The inclusion of this new programme will begin with Dunedin teams applying for Round 10, and continue with the national teams in Round 11. CODE are very excited to include this programme as part of their ongoing goal to increase the capability of new indie teams in Aotearoa.

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About CODE

CODE is the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence – a Dunedin-based hub designed to progress the sustainable growth of New Zealand’s video game development industry. CODE’s regional programme in Dunedin is funded by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit – and its national expansion by Hīkina Whakatutuki, Ministry of Innovation, Business and Employment (MBIE).

The 2025 CODE national Funding Programme for KickStart and StartUp (Round 11) is now closed. Ōtepoti Dunedin Funding programme (Round 12) Expressions of Interest is scheduled to open in January 2026.​

Further details about CODE Funding can be found here.