New Zealand First To Launch Global Entrepreneurship Week

Mayoral Launch of Global Initiative

Wellington, 16 November 2009 – Global Entrepreneurship Week, the international week of competition and events encouraging and celebrating entrepreneurial activity, was started in Wellington, New Zealand as the first country to see the light of the new day.

A mayoral reception in Wellington’s Council Chambers saw a variety of speakers talk about entrepreneurial and innovation activity as one of the key drivers of economic activity, echoing the sentiments of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who has helped drive the international competiton, which has garnered the support of international leaders including US President Barack Obama.

The New Zealand launch was attended by upwards of 100 entrepreneurs, business people, local politicians and others in Wellington. Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast spoke about the importance of entrepreneurs in the country’s capital, the home of such household name entrepreneurs as Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor and Global Entrepreneurship Week New Zealand patron and TradeMe founder Sam Morgan.

Sam Morgan spoke of the need for entrepreneurs to seize the time in their lives when they could make the choice to develop their entrepreneurial activity, something that only happens on a few occasions. He also spoke about entrepreneurs seizing the “platform” upon which to base their ventures, such as the Internet and other developments.

The speed networking topic for the opening event was ‘what should replace the no. 8 icon so often used to describe innovation in New Zealand?’

Global Entrepreneurship Week in New Zealand sees a range of activities occurring, including the development of innovation in the workplace, a programme called Unleash It! In the Workplace programme details can be seen at the Unleash it! in the Workplace website at www.unleashit.org.nz Unleash It! In the Workplace is focused upon encouraging innovative thinking from workers about the businesses in which they work and fits in with the government’s efforts to step up New Zealand’s productivity.

Additionally, there are a variety of other workshops, meetings, competitions and ‘speed networking’ events being held, including the second such event, launched one minute after Wellington’s launch, and officiated by New Plymouth mayor Peter Tennent.

Details about the week’s events, both globally and in New Zealand, may be seen at the Global Entrepreneurship Week website at www.unleashingideas.org/newzealand >

About Global Entrepreneurship Week

From Nov. 16 - 22, 2009, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org.

ENDS

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