With a chorus of scissors on red tape, Business Hawke's Bay (BHB) was officially launched last night before nearly 500 of the business community at the Hawke's Bay Opera House with an engaging presentation.
Business Hawke's Bay explained further its ideas, plans and actions to kickstart Hawke's Bay's economy througha snappy video presentation and commentary from BHB CEO Murray Douglas.
With infrastructure in place and talent already residing in the region, BHB seeks to be a facilitator of growth through making the best use of resources available in the region.
It seeks to foster business development, attract new businesses, unlock investment and support expansion into international markets through a collaboration of public and private money and the goodwill of experienced business people such as the volunteers on the BHB board.
The snappy video presentation showcased successful businesses and explained the comprehensive resources BHB had centralised for easy access.
The plan in action included a China trade support strategy, a business directory, the recently-launched Build in the Bay programme and the development and marketing of business parks - a new one is planned on Hawke's Bay Airport land.
The BHB website features four main resource areas: business relocation, Hawke's Bay Hothouse - resources for business growth and employee training, building assistance and a local business directory.
Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce President and BHB board member Stuart McLauchlan said BHB was a collaborative organisation and, while it would take some actions on its own, would facilitate actions through other parties. "It is a partnership and is designed to bring together better the Chamber, the private sector and infrastructure organisations like councils to work and implement a plan for the whole region," he said.
