Sustainability heart of winning business proposal

MEDIA RELEASE

11 May 2007

Sustainability at the heart of winning business proposal

A proposed investment company with an environmental conscience has been judged the winner of the 2007 Global Enterprise Experience, a business-concept competition based at Victoria University that unites 650 students from 34 countries.

The Mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast, today congratulated the winning team of six students from New Zealand, Germany, Rwanda, and Macau (People’s Republic of China) at an awards ceremony.

Led by Victoria University students from the School of Marketing and International Business, the international teams had three weeks to design and jointly write a business proposal using web-based communication technology. This year’s theme required a venture that fosters environmental sustainability and draws on the talents and opportunities in the team members' countries.

Competition director Deb Gilbertson says the competition has grown rapidly since it was established in 2004 by the University and Te Kaihau Ltd, a group of Wellington-based innovation and management consultants.

“Each year the number of entries doubles, and the quality and creativity of the students’ proposals is increasingly impressive. The competition showcases young New Zealanders’ ability to take a lead in developing global partnerships,” she says.

Head of Victoria’s School of Marketing & International Business, Associate Professor Val Lindsay, says the competition is a valuable opportunity for students to put their business skills to practice, and to further develop skills in leadership and communication technology.

“This is a real-life opportunity for our students to apply their learning in developing international business while dealing with all the complexities of languages, cultures, time zones, religions, world views and levels of wealth,” Dr Lindsay says.

The teams were judged by Dion Mortensen (Movac Ltd), Kerry Prendergast, Steph Smith (Creative Manufacturing Cluster), Tim Gibson (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise) and Fulvia Farinelli (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva).

The winning team are: Marit Borrmann (Germany), Patient Irumva (Rwanda), Chloe Dallaway (New Zealand), Angela Delfina Mateus (Macau PR China) Katharina Von Kracht (Germany) and Ka Leng Ho (Macau PR China). Each member receives $1000.

Their winning business concept - Bios Investments -– is an asset management company that strategically invests in companies that offer both immediate financial returns and environmentally sustainable returns for future generations. In addition, rather than simply returning dividends to investors, a 2 per cent portion will be devoted to implementing a green marketing campaign.

The Global Enterprise Experience is sponsored by Movac Ltd and HSBC.

ENDS

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