Business as usual for Chamber’s Business Mentor programme

Wellington Chamber of Commerce
Media Statement

Tuesday 15th December 2015

Business as usual for Chamber’s Business Mentor programme

Wellington Chamber of Commerce has confirmed a 3.5-year partnership to continue to manage the mentor and client pool for the Business Mentors service, which has been incorporated into the Regional Business Partner Programme, and Chief Executive John Milford is delighted.

The partnership is with Grow Wellington, part of the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA), which will continue its relationship with Government to provide support to businesses through the Regional Business Partners programme.

“I’m delighted that it’s business as usual and the Chamber will remain the Wellington provider for the Business Mentors service within the wider programme,” says Mr Milford.

“It’s an extremely worthwhile service that does some great work in the small and medium enterprise sector.

“We have delivered it for the past 14 years and the numbers tell the story of just how valuable it is.

“Since 2003, through the programme the Chamber has worked with more than 1800 clients and 380 mentors. Since 2011, we have actively worked with 788 businesses, and over the past 12 months alone we have matched 199 new clients with our mentors. We have around 100 active mentors currently assigned to clients.

“The Chamber looks forward to working with WREDA and the opportunities that partnership will bring to providing advice and assistance to our vital SME sector.”

The mentoring service is available to any business that employs fewer than 25 employees and is the owner’s primary source of income. Mentors are volunteers who are passionate, committed, and who understand business.

Nationally, the Business Mentors NZ Programme has helped more than 69,000 businesses since it was launched in 1991. Some 4000 businesses sought assistance this year.

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