Calling all visionary entrepreneurs

Yoseph Ayele, chief executive of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship. Photo / Supplied

A new fellowship has been launched to attract global "visionary entrepreneurs" to New Zealand with up to 400 spaces available.

The Edmund Hillary Fellowship has partnered with Immigration New Zealand for the new intitiative launched today which hopes to attract 100 entrepreneurs, investors and startup teams each year. The chosen participants will be joined by up to 20 Kiwis every year.

"New Zealand has what it takes to be a global innovation hub attracting the world's best and brightest minds with our progressive policies, ease of doing business, educated population, low corruption and good relations with other countries," said Yoseph Ayele, chief executive of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.

"With the global race for talent on as countries compete for the best, the Edmund Hillary Foundation harnesses New Zealand's natural and social advantages to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a global impact leader, building and growing an ecosystem of bold visionaries innovating to tackle global challenges from New Zealand," he said.

"We're look for people with fresh and pioneering ideas from all different sectors."

Ayele said they have already received 350 expressions of interest from innovators, including one woman from Mexico who is developing solar powered cookers for rural communities.

The intitiative is also open to investors with industry experience who want to work alongside innovators.

"We're looking for multi-dimensional investors, not just people who put in captial," Ayele said. "People with global connections who want to invest their time as well as their money."

The fellowship is supported by Immigration New Zealand's Global Impact Visa which allows innovators to work in and live in New Zealand. Fellows will be granted a three-year open work visa which offers eligibility for residency after 30 months.

Fellows can opt to live anywhere in New Zealand if chosen for the initiative.