Waikato Innovation Park given Government vote of confidence

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release

Date: 15 December 2015

Waikato Innovation Park given Government’s vote of confidence

The Government announced today that Waikato Innovation Park’s contract to provide support and assistance to Waikato-wide small and medium-sized businesses is renewed for a further five-and-a-half years.

From 2016, Waikato Innovation Park will add the Business Mentors NZ programme to its portfolio of services. This was previously administered regionally by the Waikato Chamber of Commerce.

The Park is one of 14 regional business partners, which are centres of business development know-how and research and development expertise which offer business growth services and funding on behalf of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Callaghan Innovation.

Chief executive Stuart Gordon is taking today’s contract renewal announcement by Economic Development minister Steven Joyce as a vote of confidence in the work he and his team are doing.

“Since 2011, 808 small to medium-sized businesses in the Waikato have benefited from the programme,” he said.

“We’re excited to add the Business Mentors NZ programme to our support portfolio. Our plan is to build on this programme in the Waikato and create another high impact business support service for local organisations.”

Waikato Innovation Park will work with Enterprise Great Lakes Taupo to deliver the Business Mentors NZ programme in the Taupo area. The Park already delivers the Regional Business Progamme contract in the Taupo region.

The Business Growth Services Team at Waikato Innovation Park effectively acts as a ‘first port of call’ to any locally-based business looking to expand, innovate and export.

The team uses its local knowledge and links within the business community to assist companies to grow both locally and internationally.

The services from Waikato Innovation Park are aimed to help businesses gain knowledge, connect with the right people and grow.

For more information about the Park’s Business Growth Services Team, visitwww.wipltd.co.nz

-ENDS-

© Scoop Media