Venture Taranaki Win Innovation And Primary Research Categories At Economic Development NZ Awards

Last night, Venture Taranaki was acknowledged for excellence in Economic Development, taking out two categories; Best Practice for Innovation, for their PowerUp programme, and Best Practice for Primary Research for the agency’s Branching Out initiative.

The annual awards held by EDNZ is a celebration of economic development best practice and demonstrate the positive impact regional economic development agencies have on the regions they serve.

"Both PowerUp and Branching Out are significant projects that align with our regional strategy, supporting our region's growth and resilience," says Kelvin Wright, Venture Taranaki Chief Executive.

"We are immensely proud to develop and deliver these initiatives in collaboration with our highly engaged and supportive community, who have contributed greatly to the success of both PowerUp and Branching Out, alongside our passionate, talented Venture Taranaki team."

PowerUp, in its second year, provides a range of support, services, and activity focused on fostering and nurturing entrepreneurship and innovation in Taranaki. The award acknowledges the diverse programme of activity PowerUp encompasses; from the development of a podcast series highlighting regional success stories, to the delivery of accelerator-style business capability workshops and a competition called Kickstart, to the mapping of the innovation ecosystem itself and the creation of an easy to access online interface for budding startups.

All of the activities and initiatives work collaboratively and holistically to support smart, connected communities and enterprises that underpin a highly innovative and future-focused region.

Branching Out is working to broaden, diversify, and strengthen the region's food and fibre future by identifying innovative, commercially viable opportunities for the region, from field to factory. Over two years, a long list of 96 prospects was narrowed down to a short list of ten high-value ventures that have been validated through robust research and analysis involving sector leaders, academic institutions, and an extensive on-the-ground network.

"These awards are a testament to the team at Venture Taranaki, and the calibre of work we consistently produce as one of the country’s leading EDA’s," said Kelvin.

"I thank the team for all of their mahi; we're thrilled to be acknowledged by our national counterparts and we share our wins with our three district councils, Ministry for Primary Industries, SODA Inc., and the countless other partners and contributors that provide ongoing support towards both programmes" concludes Kelvin.

POWERUP OVERVIEW:

PowerUp is a Venture Taranaki initiative. It is a range of support, services and activity focused on fostering and nurturing entrepreneurship, innovation, and the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Taranaki, to help create smart, connected communities and enterprises.

PowerUp is a carefully constructed programme of events and activities, delivered in conjunction with partners, and designed to complement the services and support already on offer by the wider ecosystem.

A key objective of PowerUp is to highlight the range of support available for startups, entrepreneurs and enterprises across the entire ecosystem, helping to build visibility of the ecosystem itself. Connection and collaboration with the region’s institutions, businesses and communities is vital to successfully PowerUp the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Taranaki so that ideas and innovation can thrive in Taranaki.

https://www.venture.org.nz/enterprise-and-entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship/power-up/

BRANCHING OUT OVERVIEW:

Through extensive research and collaboration with our engaged community, Branching Out has selected ten food and fibre ventures to diversify the Taranaki economy, to build on our strengths and capitalise on our untapped potential.

Since the Branching Out project launched in March 2020 Venture Taranaki, with backing from Ministry for Primary Industries, and the three District Councils, we have partnered and connected with Taranaki landowners, farmers, growers, food manufacturers, marketers, advisers, Massey University, Crown Research Institutes, and investors, and undertaken robust research to identify high-potential commercially viable venture opportunities.

The inspirational mix of ventures have been launched as investor ready blueprints with the aim to build investor confidence and serve as an informative roadmap to kick-start complementary land-based activities and associated value chain enterprises in Taranaki. https://www.venture.org.nz/projects/branching-out/.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

The Coastal Arts Trail, a tourism experience jointly created by Venture Taranaki, Whanganui & Partners, and Central Economic Development Agency, was recognised with a commendation for Best Practice Collaboration at the Economic Development NZ Awards.

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