Visa scheme reveals city of entrepreneurial potential
OPINION: This has been an election campaign like none I can remember – be it here, during my time in Australia, or in my earlier years in the United Kingdom.
It’s been frenetic, filled with leadership changes, claims and counter-claims, and promises and bribes that range from appealing and tempting to downright stupid and irresponsible.
We’ve been bombarded left, right, and centre – and there’s still more than a week to go.
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce doesn’t tell its members or the wider business sector which colour to vote for.
Instead, we’ve assessed the issues that matter to the Wellington region and highlighted the direction needed to best benefit business and the economy.
But with the opening of polling booths this week signalling that the main policies are all out, and with many thousands already casting their vote, it’s probably a good time to look beyond this personality-driven campaign.
(My vote, at least, will keep till election day – no doubt there are twists and turns still to come.)
Along with reducing red tape and tax, and building infrastructure, the business community’s big demand was maintaining a skills and talent pipeline that is tied to immigration
Quite a large number of these entrepreneurs and investors want to be based in Wellington during the three years.
and education settings. Getting those two tuned right remains a work in progress.
But one initiative that seeks to attack the skills and talent issue from a different angle is already showing signs of what’s possible if political parties are prepared to be pragmatic about immigration.
Earlier this year I wrote here about the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF), a programme that gives 100 entrepreneurs, investors, and startup teams a platform to incubate global impact ventures from New Zealand.
Those selected come here under a special visa and work with Kiwi entrepreneurs and investors on projects aimed at making a difference globally while benefiting New Zealand.
It’s all about skills and talent at the highest level.
Based in Wellington, its first advertising push attracted 350 expressions of interest, and from there it was all go.
From those 350, EHF recently selected its first cohort of 30, and to say the calibre is impressive would be an understatement.
Six are New Zealanders who’re leading change in their fields, while the 24 from overseas have 421 years of company startup experience between them. Some 24 are focused on developing new ventures and growing an ‘‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’’, while the others are investors representing funds with access to US$3.7 billion (about NZ$5 billion) of venture capital.
Their experience includes cofounding the most influential cryptocurrency company in the world, creating a fast-growing online resource centre to manage a health disorder that affects 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the world’s population, and investing in and supporting tech firms that have transformed entire industries.
That’s a tiny sample of the type of people the scheme has attracted, and it’s just scratching the surface.
No surprise, then, that Yoseph Ayele, the chief executive of EHF, tells me he’s very excited at the prospects ahead. It certainly shows the potential to attract top talent and develop an entrepreneurial base that will endure.
Further good news is that quite a large number of these entrepreneurs and investors want to be based in Wellington during the three years of their work.
While the outcome of the election remains very much up in the air, this is something certain we should all celebrate and support – and trust that September 23 delivers an environment that continues to encourage inspirational and forwardthinking schemes such as this. ❚ John Milford is the chief executive of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.