A city-wide approach to growing more high value businesses and jobs for Ōtautahi Christchurch has been launched.
The ambitious programme, a key action in the city’s Economic Recovery Plan, aims to boost support across businesses’ growth journey – from early stage ideation through to high growth and international scalability.
The ‘all of city’ approach is underwritten by ChristchurchNZ’s two agreements; one with University of Canterbury (UC) Business School and one with Ara Institute of Canterbury (Ara) and Ministry of Awesome through the Te Ōhaka – Centre for Growth & Innovation.
The agreements specifically aim to:
- Identify, support, and accelerate the growth of Christchurch’s most ambitious start-ups and scale-ups, particularly those working under the sectors identified in ChristchurchNZ’s Supernodes strategy.
- Ensure those companies are given appropriate support within the broader ecosystem following incubation and capability building with Te Ōhaka and/or UC Business School’s ThincLab.
- Attract talent, entrepreneurship, and businesses to Christchurch, while supporting the rich talent pipeline from the region’s tertiary institutions.
Boyd Warren, ChristchurchNZ General Manager – Commercial said the collaborative approach is an important part of Christchurch’s Economic Recovery Plan.
“Our recovery plan has an immediate aim to save and grow jobs and in the medium/long term reposition Christchurch as a smart sustainable city to ensure intergenerational wellbeing.