Dream comes true for three Kiwi businesses

 

Three kiwi businesses that have demonstrated exceptional passion, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit have been awarded an Ora Dreams grant, each worth up to $50,000. 

Forbidden Brewing Co, a family start-up business in Auckland that produces high-quality cider; Terrain, a Taupo-based forestry and safety supply store, and Wellington’s LittleMonkey, a web, app, mobile and game products developer, have each been awarded with an Ora Dreams grant that aim to significantly boost their growth plans.

The Ora Dreams grants were presented at Britomart's Nathan Club last Wednesday night – celebrating small business and its contribution to the New Zealand economy.  

Judges Nick Fox, ‎GM, Digital Platforms at NZPost; Damian Sharkey, SME Lead at Westpac and Christina Domecq, CEO and founder of Ora, commented that the winners each have a unique formula that is producing outstanding results. 

“The inaugural winners of the Ora Dreams grants have showcased innovation and entrepreneurship to help them get to where they are today and we believe the grants will provide the fuel to make them go far,” says Ms Domecq.  

“Terrain is a great example of smart business owners who purchased a business and increased its revenue, and are now expanding from traditional bricks and mortar to online sales.

“LittleMonkey is a business that has demonstrated through its conference app the possibility to scale a product beyond New Zealand,” says Ms Domecq. 

Damian Sharkey, Westpac’s SME Lead, presented Forbidden Brewing Co with a Westpac-sponsored grant exclusively for a Westpac business customer.

“We selected Forbidden Brewing Co because of their inspiring backstory, award-winning products, significant growth, and our belief in their future potential,” says Mr Sharkey. 

Each Dreams grant includes Ora’s unique Business Navigator tools and marketing services, as well as strategic business support from Ora’s partners – Westpac, Vend, 2degrees, MYOB, NZPost and Xero – worth up to $50,000.

Applications are now open for the second round of Ora Dreams grants that will be awarded in March 2015. To be in the running for an Ora Dreams grant, business owners can sign up to Ora for free and share their dream. Ora will nominate the best dreams to prepare their business case and a video showcasing the impact a business grant could have on their business. 

For more information on Ora Dreams grants, please visit https://orahq.com/dreams. For winners details, please visit https://orahq.com/blog/ora-dreams-event.