A network of more than 140 entrepreneurial businesses and organisations warns New Zealand is in danger of being left behind economically due to a lack of resources and insufficient policies to progress entrepreneurship.
The New Zealand chapter of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) wants to see local and central government politicians initiate policies to make entrepreneurship easier and more effective. To that end, it has released a manifesto outlining initiatives it hopes will help New Zealand become more entrepreneurial.
Wellington-based entrepreneur and angel investor Dave Moskovitz (pictured) has been the chair of GEN New Zealand since 2019.
“We need to make New Zealand more entrepreneurial and level up our entrepreneurial skills so that we can compete on the world stage and provide that intergenerational social and economic prosperity,” Moskovitz says.
Over the last three years, GEN has grown its New Zealand network to more than 200 people representing more than 140 organisations, including entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators, entrepreneur support organisations, central and local government, academia, investors and NGOs. They collaborated to produce the manifesto, reflecting the views of network members.
GEN’s mission is to connect entrepreneurs with the people and resources they need to thrive nationally and globally.
GEN also wants to create a diverse and more resilient foundation for intergenerational economic and social prosperity. Moskovitz believes that if entrepreneurs and government collaborate, the conditions to increase entrepreneurship will improve.
“If you can get the foundation right, then that makes everything else a lot easier.”
The manifesto’s six sections address policymaking, how to support and educate entrepreneurs to enable an innovation nation, the commercialisation of research, how to attract talented entrepreneurs, and how to enhance and expand our entrepreneurial ecosystem on the global stage.
“We would like people who are in, and who interact with, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, to support our key messages and initiatives and create a more entrepreneurial Aotearoa,” Moskovitz says.
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