A Northland student company can count the nation's Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister among its customers.
Springbank School students Noah Atchison-Darby and Nikki Chapman, of Kerikeri, travelled to Wellington last month for the national finals of the Young Enterprise Scheme (Yes).
Their firm, The Cashew Company, imports nuts from a development project in Maziotela, a town in the southeast African state of Mozambique. The newly built cashew nut processing plant in Maziotela employs more than 160 people.
In Kerikeri the nuts are made into honey-roasted cashews and cashew nut butter at a certified commercial kitchen.
Noah and Nikki received the NZ Aid Award for a product solving a problem in a developing country at the December 11 awards night, which included guests Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae and Finance Minister Bill English.