Kerikeri teen Rosie Robinson's all-expenses study trip to Brazil

Kerikeri teen Rosie Robinson is one of eight young Kiwis selected for an all-expenses-paid business studies trip to Brazil. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A Bay of Islands teenager is one of eight young Kiwis selected for an all-expenses-paid business studies trip to Brazil.

Rosie Robinson, who is in Year 12 at Kerikeri High School, will travel to Sao Paulo, the biggest city in South America, from December 8-15.

There she will learn how businesses operate in Latin America, meet local entrepreneurs, visit New Zealand institutions such as the office of NZ Trade and Enterprise, and work with local students.

Rosie said she had never been to the Americas and would quickly have to learn some Portuguese.

''I'm very excited, it's going to be a great opportunity. It'll be a really cool place to visit.''

She had been told many Latin American businesses were family oriented, which was
familiar to her. Rosie's parents own a well-known organic food business in Kerikeri.

''It'll be interesting to see how they operate,'' she said.

The 16-year-old, whose subjects include business management, was one of three Kerikeri High students accepted for an Entrepreneurs in Action challenge in Wellington last month on the strength of a video application.

The 80 students taking part were split into groups of eight and challenged to come up with a strategy for marketing a product in Latin America which they then had to pitch to the judges twice in two days.

Her group missed out on the top prize of a study trip to Chile but all students and mentors could nominate one person, based on performance and teamwork, for a separate trip to Brazil.

The study tour is a partnership between the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) and the Latin America Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence.

The Wellington challenge was open to all 4000 New Zealanders taking part in YES, which sees high school students create a real-world business with a real profit or loss.

Rosie's business venture, which she will showcase at the YES trade fair at Kerikeri's Old Packhouse Market on August 17, is an e-book called Simply Healthy with 25 plant-based recipes using organic Northland ingredients. The book was inspired by the response to recipes she shares in her Instagram food account, Simply Natural.