Pacific businesses in regional New Zealand will receive a boost to stimulate growth and thrive in response to the impacts of COVID-19 with the Pacific Aotearoa Regional Enterprise Fund.
A signing ceremony (pictured) between the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise recently took place at the Wellington MPP office to commemorate direct investments into existing small to medium Pacific businesses in the regions.
The two agencies are working together to facilitate these investments, made possible with Budget 2021 funds for COVID-19 recovery.
Policy Advisor at MPP Sali Sali says the Pacific Aotearoa Regional Enterprise Fund has many aims – which align with the Pacific Vision outlined in the Lalanga Fou report.
“We really want to see businesses increase productivity, and job creation with this fund,” Sali says.
“We’re also aiming to increase participation of Pacific businesses in economic development projects in the regions and support the scaling up of Pacific businesses to transition and diversify and create jobs.”
The fund also aims to strengthen more successful and sustainable Pacific-owned businesses, as well as the resilience of Pacific businesses to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
There are criteria businesses must meet to be eligible for the fund, including they align with the Lalanga Fou goal to have Prosperous Pacific Communities in Aotearoa.
Among other criteria, is the business must be in regional New Zealand outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch
Additionally, businesses can apply for up to $100,000, but they must commit to co-contributing 20 percent of the requested funding.
Businesses interested in applying for the Pacific Aotearoa Regional Enterprise Fund can enrol in an online funding workshop, facilitated by MPP.
The workshops are one hour long and cover the purpose of the fund and eligibility criteria.
Funding workshops are optional, but we encourage you to attend a workshop before submitting your application.
Workshops will be available in person in various locations and online via Zoom.
Applications for the Pacific Aotearoa Regional Enterprise Fund close at 5pm on August 20.
Applicants will hear about the outcome of their application by the end of September 2021.