Business Mentors NZ Gets Funding Boost

15 May 2007

NEWS RELEASE

Business Mentors NZ Gets Funding Boost For `Export Experts’ Recruitment Drive

Business Mentors New Zealand is recruiting up to 100 additional people to act as mentors for exporters thanks to a new Government initiative.

According to Ray Schofield, CEO of Business Mentors, the new initiative, part of Export 2007, will mean that businesses venturing into exporting for the first time and existing exporters can benefit from having a mentor looking over their plans and giving them much needed advice.

‘Every seasoned exporter has made mistakes and learned from them’ he commented ‘And we are planning to pass that valuable knowledge and experience onto other fledgling exporters, to help them avoid the same errors and pitfalls.’

Business Mentors New Zealand was established in 1991. It is funded largely by patrons from the private sector, with additional support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. It provides a free mentoring service to businesses that have been operating for at least a year and have fewer than 25 staff.

Minister of Economic Development Hon Trevor Mallard said: ‘This boost to mentoring means business can more easily find an experienced mentor to act as a sounding board for ideas and plans and to benefit from their skill and know-how.’

‘Business Mentors makes several thousand matches a year between businesses and mentors. No other organisation in New Zealand is structured to connect mentors with businesses on the same scale and this additional funding for Export Year 2007 will enable more matches between export businesses and mentors with the right skills,’ Mr Mallard said.

Business Mentors NZ currently has a pool of about 1,400 mentors from throughout New Zealand but only a proportion of these are experienced exporters. As well as recruiting additional mentors, Business Mentors New Zealand will provide export-focussed training for both new and existing mentors. Mentors are volunteers and are not paid for their time, although they are reimbursed for expenses. Each mentor is usually available for at least four hours per month for mentoring assignments.

Exporters and business organisations working together as part of Export Year 2007 have identified that export-focussed mentoring could help address the need for knowledge sharing between exporters and aspiring exporters. They have expressed their support for enhanced mentoring delivered efficiently through existing channels.

According to Ray Schofield recruiting more mentors with real-world exporting experience will boost the capability and performance of New Zealand firms that are currently exporting or those who are ready to start exporting.

Businesses wishing to request a mentor can register their interest on-line at www.businessmentor.org.nz or by calling 0800-103-400

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