Kiwi innovators to gain a taste of agriculture and business

Kiwi innovators to gain a taste of agriculture and business in the Philippines

Five entrepreneurs whose companies have a sustainability focus will interact with business leaders and farmers in the Philippines as part of an Asia New Zealand Foundation tour.

The group will visit the Southeast Asian country from 29 November to 8 December as part of the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative, managed by the Foundation for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They will attend business meetings in the capital of Manila, meet with New Zealand government agencies and speak at an event for Filipino business leaders. They will then travel to the island province of Marinduque to visit farmers working in the cacao, coconut sugar and eco-tourism industries.

The participants are:

• Kate Beecroft, co-founder of co-working space Enspiral and artisan gift box company Wellington in a Box, Wellington
• Addison Dale, director of Pure Café Co and 2015 New Zealand barista champion, Christchurch
• Rochelle Harrison, co-founder and managing director of Wellington Chocolate Factory, Wellington
• Roman Jewell, owner of peanut butter company Fix and Fogg, Wellington
• Michael Sly, co-founder of essential oil company Wilding and Co, Queenstown

ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative project manager Adam McConnochie says the New Zealand participants will learn more about the business environment and agriculture in the Philippines and also explore ways to collaborate with Filipino social entrepreneurs.

“A couple of the Kiwi participants have already met Southeast Asian entrepreneurs who have visited New Zealand through the initiative, and introduced them to their businesses. We’ve noticed Southeast Asian food and beverage entrepreneurs have been particularly impressed by the focus on sustainability shown by their New Zealand counterparts.”

The programme in Marinduque is organised by AGREA, a social enterprise founded on the principles of fair trade and sustainable agriculture. Its founder, Cherrie Atilano, visited New Zealand earlier in the year through the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative. New Zealander Rachel Espejo, a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Leadership Network, is AGREA’s director of partnerships and advocacy marketing and is helping arrange the visit programme.

The relationship between New Zealand and the Philippines is of growing significance. It is New Zealand’s 12th largest export market for goods and one of the top five destinations for dairy exports. It is also New Zealand’s second biggest source of skilled migrants.

ASEAN is a grouping of 10 nations with a population of more than 620 million people and has a free trade agreement with New Zealand through the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA.

Running since 2012, the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative has brought more than 50 dynamic entrepreneurs and business leaders from Southeast Asia to New Zealand, building business connections and facilitating trade links. This year the programme has been made reciprocal and a group of New Zealand technology entrepreneurs visited Thailand and Singapore in May.

For more information about the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative: http://asianz.org.nz/our-work/action-asia-business/asean-initiative

ENDS

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