World Bank urges Kiwis to think big

From page 6 markets when this starts.’’

Banks said NZTE is focused on where it can have the greatest impact.

‘‘The agency works one-to-one with a core group of around 500 companies, including SMEs. As well as this core group, NZTE also engages less intensively with another group of about 1500 exporting businesses.

‘‘The focus of Government assistance is on providing the basic skills, information and advice that will give SMEs the best chance of harnessing their capabilities [in doing so increasing productivity] so that they are competitive once they start exporting.’’

So what are New Zealand’s export growth options?

O’Reilly said one effective model is the aggregation of small businesses into groups allowing them to in some ways act like and gain the advantages of large businesses.

Examples include the wine industry under NZ Wine, collective efforts to promote tourism and to export mussels to China.

‘‘It seems clear, no matter what the World Bank says, if you can get a bunch of small companies to aggregate their efforts it does work occasionally,’’ he said.

However, he added, you would struggle to find other examples of any significance and such efforts are complex and costly.

One hope is that the new Callaghan Advanced Technology Institute will help create new ways to aggregate small firms that do not sell the same products but that target the same international supply chains, such as in areas like transport and construction, he said.

NZIER’s de Raad said the

‘‘This leads to the implication that generating exports is not about promoting domestic entrepreneurship, but rather, about attracting large multinationals.’’

institute has suggested that one solution to overcoming New Zealand’s scale problem is to promote quick population growth.

‘‘Imagine a New Zealand with four or five cities the size of