Young people in business are go-getters
Manawatu¯ Young Chamber in focus
The Manawatu¯ Young Chamber is busy reinventing itself after a tough year or two under Covid-19. Young, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic, the four board members, Ramola Duncan, Nelson Harper, Sarah Ma and Ella Moffatt, have big plans for this year.
“We want to be a network with a cause,” says Ramola Duncan, who is the team’s chairwoman and their adviser.
First up is an official launch in May, which will be accompanied by a membership drive.
While the youth chamber, part of the Manawatu¯ Business Chamber, was founded in 2017, it is now gaining momentum and the four board members are determined to get back on track and stay on track.
They are calling for anyone young, that is under 40 years of age, and in business or with plans to get into business, to join their network. Focusing on employability, enterprise, governance and partnership, they plan to hold regular meetings for members, which will be led by a facilitator.
These meetings won’t be easy going, stay for the free food affairs. They will be work meetings, where everyone
needs to contribute. The accent will be collaborative work.
“We want to connect, to collaborate, to advance youth participation on boards, and to connect as many businesses as possible,” Duncan says.
They already have connections with clubs at Massey University, organisations in Palmerston North’s sister cities, Environment Manawatu¯ and Massey ventures as well as with international business and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA).
They plan to hold an event every month that will carry a theme, such as governance, sustainability, sales, speed interviewing or international trade.
Board member Ella Moffatt works for Massey Ventures where science done at the university is turned into
commercial ventures.
She has chaired the Massey University Student Enterprise Club and has worked for global companies and the Palmerston North City Council international relations department. She says the university has a lot of entrepreneurial students and Massey Ventures helps them turn their ideas into profitable businesses.
Young Chamber vice-chairwoman Sarah Ma has specialised in international relations, and has connections within the local business community through previous jobs and is administrator for NZIIA and a Palmy global ambassador. She has experience in event management and previously ran a restaurant.
Nelson Harper is a chemical and bioprocess engineer and works with Engineering NZ on various projects.
He is keen to reduce the impact of waste. He is involved in start-ups working on waste minimisation and technical development for recycling the unrecyclables.
Success for them as a team means attracting quality young professionals and helping them to develop life skills.
“We get people together, provide support including helping them find any funding they might need,” Duncan says.
Next year TEDx Manawatu¯ will help them spread ideas using some of the region’s inspiring speakers.