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Kiwi companies and entrepreneurs can now link to each other through the internet to help build their businesses.
Made from New Zealand, set up to promote locally developed businesses, launched its website www.madefromnewzealand.com yesterday.
The site describes itself as an open global community for all businesses founded or owned by New Zealanders.
Entrepreneurs Steve Adams, Tim Norton, John Clegg and Patrick MacFie shared a vision to connect Kiwi business talent and knowledge through the net and found they had complementary skills to get it going.
The project aims to increase traffic to members' websites, make them easier to find on search engines and help like-minded businesses to get in touch. The site was kickstarted last night with a television campaign, sponsored by Telecom.
Adams introduced the Made from New Zealand concept on Waitangi Day last year, organising more than 1000 Kiwis to build a 100m-long silver fern sand sculpture on Santa Monica beach, Los Angeles.
He saw the opportunity to link the thousands of Kiwi businesses with websites through a stronger online "eco-system".
The fern sculpture attracted the interest of New Zealanders in businesses around the world who were keen to connect with one another.
Yesterday afternoon Made from New Zealand had 400 members. It aims to increase that to 1000 this year. .
Adams said the site was a way of tapping into the country's overseas resources in order to benefit New Zealand business as a whole.
"Everyone goes on about the brain-drain, but we have turned it around and made it into an asset, saying we have hundreds of thousands of Kiwis overseas, and they are there because they are doing really well. "
He said it was fitting to launch the site while the economy was sliding.
"[It's] a fast-changing and in some ways scary business environment but I think what we are saying in terms of New Zealand businesses is that the best way to take those challenges on is to work together."
