Free support for Coromandel businesses

Entrepreneurs, inventors and business start-ups and established businesses in the Thames-Coromandel area can get valuable free advice and mentoring support thanks to a team of visiting business experts.

On the first Tuesday of each month business growth advisor Peter Davey visits the Coromandel to meet with local people who have a great business idea, product or service and want advice on how to get it to market. Thames-Coromandel is a new area of service for Davey, who is one of the Business Growth Services team based at Waikato Innovation Park (WIP) in Hamilton.

“I am always blown away by the people I meet who have ideas with real merit and commercial application,” said Davey. “The challenge is taking their inventions and good ideas through to reality and commercial success.”

The services are free to all greater Waikato businesses, not just those based at Waikato Innovation Park. The Business Growth Services team is funded by the Regional Business Partner Network (RBPN) which is supported by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) and Callaghan Innovation.

Their aim is to support businesses who have high-growth aspirations, are export focused, technology-driven or have innovative products or services with real commercial merit.

To date the team has engaged with more than 1000 businesses and have helped contribute more than $1.3 million to the regional economy through their support of new businesses and products.

Their clients include both established businesses and start-ups. Some are people with good ideas but in need of guidance or research and development co-funding, while others may be small-to-medium businesses with high-growth aspirations or with innovative new products or services they want to commercialise or export.

An initial ‘discovery’ meeting was typically followed by an action plan that detailed opportunities as well as barriers to growth.

Depending on the stage of the business or product, the Business growth Team could put people in touch with a business mentor or connect them with resources or experts to expand their business.

“We’re really excited the Waikato Innovation Park are keen for business growth in Thames-Coromandel, and are able to help our businesses get every aspect of support to help them be as successful as they can be,” says our Economic Development Programme Manager, Colleen Litchfield.

The next Business Growth Services visit to Thames-Coromandel is Tuesday March 7. Contact our customer Services team on 07 868 0200 or see our website www.tcdc.govt.nz/wip for more information.

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