As part of its role advocating for the local business community, Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce hosted an event last week enabling people to reflect on, evaluate and ask questions about the progress of the
district’s Economic Development Strategy, which was adopted by Kāpiti Coast District Council last year.
The well-attended event, which was the final in a speaker series event for 2021, saw Neil MacKay, Chair of Kāpiti
Economic Development Kotahitanga Board and Mark Ward, Council’s Economic Development Manager present an update on the
strategy and its progress to around 50 people, followed by an interactive Q session hosted by Kāpiti Law’s Jane Stevenson.
The Economic Development Strategy covers key outcomes for the district, including a Destination Management Plan - which
supports tourism sector growth and resilience, a Workforce Plan to help develop, attract and retain a skilled workforce
to boost the local economy, as well as planning around major events. It also focuses on strategic partnerships, such as
with the Chamber, business facilitation and creating groups to support industry sectors.
An ‘economic dashboard’ for Kāpiti, shared at the event, showed some positive traction, such as domestic tourism
expenditure increasing by 12.5 percent, compared with 7.3 percent in the wider Wellington region and 5.4 percent
nationally, as well as a 4.5 percent rise in consumer spending in the district compared with two years ago.
Questions from audience members focused on areas including the opportunity to pursue alternative funding avenues for
business, such as from individual investors, and the need for more hands-on support from Council to assist business
looking to relocate to Kāpiti, with ways various groups can all work together proving to top of people’s minds as we
head towards the end of a second challenging year of Covid-19 impacts.
Mark Ward says the overall takeaway message from the event was that all were in agreement there is a lot of progress to
be made together, with different groups and organisations working cohesively.
“We have some joint plans, and the capability in place to [achieve them],” he says.
“We must keep up the momentum and be strategic together, supporting all our initiatives”.
Chamber Co-Chair Monique Leith says it’s vital for organisations to work together and utilise their strengths to achieve
the best possible outcomes for the district.
“After much investment in preparing the Strategy, it’s good to see the progress that has been made by the Board around
the different industries and bringing business to Kāpiti. It’s also heartening to see a full working economic
development team within Council who are committed to talking to communities and business. A team that is interactive
with us as a Chamber and most of all listening to us”.About Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce
The Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce champions and supports local business – and provides a collective voice. Our role
is to advance our local economy by creating wealth and employment, connecting people and working together to solve local
business issues. We are a non-profit, independent organisation run by a volunteer board of local business owners, and
are part of a nationwide network of 30 chambers across the country.
With over 300 members, we represent all parts of the business community, from small sole traders to some of the
district’s biggest employers, providing a credible voice and advocating for local businesses on key issues, to both
local and central government.
Visit www.kapitichamber.org.nz