Kendall Flutey

Kendall Flutey (Ngāi Tahu) is a New Zealand entrepreneur and the co-founder and co-chief executive of Banqer, the financial-education platform that simulates a real economy inside a classroom.

Flutey has a background in accounting, economics and web development. The idea for Banqer came from a conversation with her younger brother, who was in primary school and learning about money. Working with his teacher, Micah Hocquard, now Banqer’s pedagogy lead, she developed a concept where students create fictitious bank accounts, earn income, pay expenses, invest, insure and budget, experiencing the mechanics of money before they encounter it for real.

Since its conception in 2014, the platform has grown into two products, Banqer Primary (primary and intermediate) and Banqer High (secondary schools), and has been used by more than 300,000 students across Australasia. With champion partner Kiwibank, Banqer is free for all primary schools and subsidised for high schools in New Zealand, positioning it to support the country’s move towards compulsory financial literacy in schools.

Flutey’s work has drawn recognition both locally and internationally. Banqer was named 2018 NZ Hi-Tech Start-Up Company of the Year and Flutey was named 2018 Young Māori Business Leader and 2019 Young New Zealander of the Year. The platform received a Global Inclusion Award at the G20 Summit in Berlin and Flutey was featured by NZ Trade and Enterprise as one of its spotlight female founders. She has spoken on RNZ about the importance of improving New Zealanders’ financial capability from a young age.

Flutey’s profile is noteworthy because Banqer addresses one of New Zealand’s most persistent gaps, financial literacy, at the point where it can do the most good: inside the classroom. Her work is a reminder that some of the most important startups are the ones that change what the next generation knows before they leave school.

Kendall features in our look at how NZ fintech founders disagree about money.

Sources: Kiwibank NZ Awards · NZ Trade and Enterprise · RNZ