July 23rd 2009
The $3 million University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs’ Challenge has been launched by Prime Minister the Hon John Key, and offers young and promising entrepreneurial companies financial support and mentoring to move ahead.

Funded by a generous endowment from one-time student, London-based international financier Charles Bidwill, the Challenge will assist New Zealand businesses of real promise that have reached a critical stage in their growth and development - and need help in moving to the next level.

Despite these difficult economic times, I am very optimistic about New Zealand’s future. There are several reasons for this.

We have world-leading advantages in the production of food. We are well positioned on the edge of Asia and have a growing number of free-trade agreements with countries in the region. We are a great place for tourists to come and visit. And we have fabulous businesses which are niche in nature by world standards but have great capacity to grow.