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Businesses seeking investment to grow have a new avenue to source funds with a Commercial Pitch Night in Rotorua next month.
The event is being run by Firestation Business Growth Centre, Rotorua X and Rotorua Economic Development Limited on July 28.
Event director Darren McGarvie says one of the biggest constraints businesses experience is having the capital to fund growth.
"We want to help businesses get access to that capital, and Pitch Night is a way to help facilitate this.
"Start-ups and newer businesses are finding it increasingly harder to borrow money from traditional methods such as bank lending. Equity investment, investor lending or even crowdfunding are options that are now more commonly considered."
McGarvie said it had put on six Pitch Nights from 2014 to 2019, but the focus had always been on practising a pitch with up to $10,000 in business support prizes up for grabs.
"This year the focus has changed to facilitating introductions to secure investment."
However, McGarvie said the format was different to previous years.
"This event will introduce investment-ready businesses to prospective investors and be the start of an active local investor community in Rotorua."
Businesses must apply to pitch, attend a group pitch training workshop and have the option of individual pitch coaching.
Only four businesses will get to pitch on the night. If organisers are overwhelmed by suitable pitch applications, there will be a Quick-Fire Pitch round in front of a live audience on July 7 to help decide who should pitch.
"Our Investor audience will be people in the local community and wider Central North Island region who are interested and able to support up-and-coming businesses," McGarvie said.
"Pitch Night acts as an introduction. We can also help organise individual pitch businesses to meet with investors or lenders before or after the event."
An expert panel will provide feedback to the pitches on the night and ask questions. The panel includes Destination Rotorua interim chief executive Andrew Wilson, PledgeMe chief executive Dr Claire McGowan, commercial lawyer Mark Copeland, StokedNZ founder Debs Brocklesby, Rhythm & Vines founder Andrew Witters and Rotorua Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson.
Audience attendance is by invitation only and is limited to genuine individual and corporate investors, pitch team supporters and event partner sponsors and members.
People interested in attending must register their interest to receive an invitation and event venue details.
"Applications to pitch and attend opened a week ago and we are excited about the level of interest in the event, from both investors and businesses wanting to pitch."
Applications to pitch close June 30. Investor registrations will be accepted until venue capacity is reached.
To apply to pitch or to register as an investor, visit www.thefirestation.nz/pitch-night/
Volfest in the Bay
Tauranga is hosting the first of a series of Volfest events, with more than 40 volunteering engaging organisations attending the Volfest at Baycourt on June 25.
The event was given a new look and date to coincide with National Volunteering Week from June 20 to 26.
Volunteering Bay of Plenty chief executive officer Vanessa Lister explained the Volfest brand will now be the umbrella for a series of events.
The events were designed to inform, engage and connect volunteering-based organisations, enabling businesses and potential Volunteers, she said.
'With a focus on inclusivity, connection and accessibility, Volfest will now be the brand that encompasses several events, providing our community with opportunities to share experiences and knowledge."
Volunteering Bay of Plenty has been the hub for volunteering services in the Bay for more than a decade.
The organisation provides advocacy, collaboration, consulting, training and events for not- for-profit organisations, community groups, local businesses and individual volunteers to create connected communities that actively engage in volunteering.
"After living in a Covid world, the opportunity to have an event where people connect face to face is so valuable," Lister says.
"The current need for many community organisations is at an all-time high and the sense
of community is strong.
"Volunteering can assist in gaining new skills and experience, boosting job and
career prospects. It is a great way to improve physical and mental health and to make new
connections."
Helping the not-for-profit sector grow with good governance
It takes a lot to run a business and not-for-profit (NFP) organisations are no different.
However, much of what keeps things running isn't just the day-to-day operations, but the governance happening behind the scenes.
The Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust and Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty branch have partnered to offer a range of ways to grow and support good governance in the not-for-profit sector.
TECT funding has ensured the events and courses are subsidised or free.
One of the partnership's offerings is a series of free NFP governance forums for trustees to develop their governance understanding and commitment to best-practice governance.
The forums feature an assortment of guest speakers, resources, case studies and articles, and aim to have the same group of people attending all sessions from separate NFP boards; providing further opportunity to grow relations, connections and networks for continued learning and future collaborations.
The first forum was held in April, with the next one taking place on July 27.
Institute of Directors Bay of Plenty branch chair Jana Rangooni says the partnership offerings provide valuable insight into NFP governance.
"It doesn't matter if you are on an NZX-listed board, council, or your kid's sports club committee – you are still liable for the health and sustainability of that organisation.
"It's imperative that trustees, board members and directors understand best-practice governance and can apply the principles with confidence."
TECT trustee Peter Farmer says through the NFP governance essentials course, all NFP chairs can ensure their board improves its ability to sustainably grow their entity and adhere to all relevant compliance standards.
"The Institute of Directors and TECT NFP governance essentials course will add substantial value to all NFP boards, and I commend it to all within governance in both the NFP arena and 'for-profit'."
To learn more, go to .tect.org.nz/institute-of-directors-and-tect
Flavours Bay of Plenty
Passionate foodies, hospitality leaders and producers have united as part of a new collective celebrating the Coastal Bay of Plenty's evolving food story.
Flavours of Plenty is an initiative driven by Tāpoi Te Moananui ā Toi - Tourism Bay of Plenty that aims to increase awareness of the region's growing food scene among residents and manuhiri (visitors), and is a partnership between Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Restaurant Association of New Zealand and Priority One.
The collective will also provide the platform to identify commercial opportunities in the food and hospitality space through the camaraderie that comes from people having a shared passion.
Acting Tumuaki chief executive Oscar Nathan says the collective would focus on showcasing the "people, places, produce and plates" that reflect the region's passion, innovation and creativity behind food in the Te Moananui ā Toi - Coastal Bay of Plenty.
"Our rich soils mean the region is already well known for growing and nurturing some of the world's healthiest and most nutritious food products, with Te Puke calling itself the kiwifruit capital of the world, and Katikati staking its claim to New Zealand's avocado capital in 2018."
"By connecting people, we're enabling discussion and the potential for new authentic
experiences to emerge that will support economic development and a thriving community for residents and manuhuri to enjoy."
Townhouse complex proves popular
Huge demand for The Stables designer townhouse complex in Cameron Rd opposite the Tauranga racecourse has seen stage one of the development sell out already with half of stage two sold within days of release.
Tremains director of projects and marketing Richard Graham says the feedback from buyers was that high-density housing was long overdue in the area.
"The speed of growth in Tauranga's population has really overtaken the amount of stock available on the market. Our sales and rentals teams are overwhelmed by demand from residents looking to secure a foothold in the market or even just get a roof over their heads.
"Investors are seeing The Stables as an opportunity to enter the high-density housing market at an affordable level with units priced from $670,000 and providing a forecast return of over 4 per cent per annum," he says.
"This is a new way of living for many Tauranga residents."
The development, which included 20 townhouses, was expected to be complete by the end of next year.
IVF for flounder holds key to fledgling aquaculture industry
Creating an IVF programme for New Zealand's endemic yellowbelly flounder was not how Brooke Ellis-Smith envisaged her career in aquaculture, but her research holds the key to a fledgling industry for New Zealand's small coastal communities.
An artificial breeding programme for the flounder, known as pātiki, was started by University of Waikato researchers this month. Forty-two pātiki netted from the Tauranga Harbour and housed in tanks at Toi Ohomai's Aquaculture Facility are its foundation breeding stock.
University of Waikato Master of Science student Ellis-Smith has received a William
Georgetti Scholarship to research induced reproduction in pātiki, encouraging them to spawn in captivity using a natural hormone analogue.
Pātiki do not easily breed in captivity, but researchers plan to use a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa), to encourage the fish to spawn in tanks during their normal winter breeding season.
"I guess it's a bit like IVF treatment in humans. The hormone we use encourages them to develop their eggs.''
She says the type of land-based fish farming they are proposing would also sit well alongside the growing seaweed aquaculture industry.
"Fish aquaculture can put a lot of nutrients in the water, but it could be partnered with a
seaweed algal pond that could filter the water and produce a high-value organic fertiliser."
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