New social enterprise programme celebrates final showcase!

New social enterprise programme celebrates final showcase!

New Zealand’s first social enterprise accelerator programme, Live the Dream, culminates with a final showcase event on Wellington’s Waterfront today. Seven teams will pitch their ideas for a better New Zealand at the exclusive event.

Run by Inspiring Stories Trust, the programme was designed to radically up-skill the next generation of entrepreneurs and their ventures. Young people from across New Zealand took part in the 10-week accelerator, with their ventures ranging from housing to workplace health and wellbeing, up-cycling wood-waste, local food resilience to a youth volunteering platform.

The event comes at a time when Government has just announced it’s official position on social enterprise, recognising the significant increase in the growth of the sector internationally, and it’s commitment to supporting the development of the sector in New Zealand.

Inspiring Stories Trust CEO, Guy Ryan, said “the programme has played a pivotal role in learning how New Zealand can better support the next generation of social entrepreneurs and enterprise. The impact on participants has been significant, and the programme has the potential to be replicated on every tertiary campus nationwide supporting thousands of young people.”

The first-time programme attracted support from the Tindall Foundation, Massey University, the Hikurangi Foundation, Sustainable Business Council, Vodafone, KPMG, Enspiral and World Vision amongst many others.

More than 70 contributors from across New Zealand were involved as speakers and mentors. Programme Manager Anthony Cabraal, said “The collaboration from so many partners and contributors has been awesome. It’s been amazing to draw on such a diverse range of expertise and watch the teams transform.”

Inspiring Stories Trust plans to run the programme in at least Wellington and Auckland next summer and is looking for support from potential partners. Find out more about Live the Dream via the website – www.livethedream.org.nz.

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