By YOKE HAR LEE
Unitec's Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will help to paint a profile of the New Zealand angel investor.
But the Auckland polytechnic cannot raise the money needed to be a part of a more ambitious global project led by Associate Professor Kevin Hindle of Swinburne University to benchmark the country's entrepreneurial state.
Professor Gael McDonald, dean of Unitec's Faculty of Business, confirmed that she would assist Professor Hindle to collate information about New Zealand's business angels.
But the Mt Albert faculty could not afford to accept an invitation to be part of the larger Global Entrepreneurial Monitor (Gem) project.
"It is entirely a funding issue," said Professor McDonald.
"To participate, we first need something like $30,000 to $35,000 on the table.
"We just haven't been able to get that level of research funding."
Professor Hindle said Gem would be critical as the first international comparison of entrepreneurs, tracking their activities on a common index.
The project started with 10 participating countries, had expanded to 20 by its second year, and could double again by next year, he said.
"It is going to be one of the most influential reports."
Governments would probably find the study useful for policy development and management.
Gem is a collaboration by Babson College, the London School of Economics and the Kauffman Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Each national team contributes by interviewing more than 1000 people on their views of entrepreneurship.
New Zealand portrait short of finance
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