Five Reasons Kiwi Entrepreneurs Should Apply for Edmund Hillary Fellowship
The original version of this article appeared on Stuff.co.nz
In 2017, the OECD warned New Zealand that our reliance on primary industries is compromising our international green reputation, and urged us to come up with a long-term vision to transition to a greener, low-carbon economy.
On the same day that the OECD report was released, a Vivid Economics report was launched setting out scenarios for how New Zealand can do just that — innovation and entrepreneurship being a central part of the solution. In fact, New Zealand has the key ingredients to be a sustainability innovation leader, opening new export opportunities beyond commodities.
In New Zealand’s growing innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, companies like Lanzatech have turned sustainability challenges into business opportunities. And we’re seeing more innovation-based sustainability experiments taking place in farms, fisheries, national parks, technology startups, Iwi-managed businesses, and large corporates.
The challenge, according to the Compass Start-up Genome’s Ecosystem Ranking Survey, also released the same year, is that New Zealand startups are far less experienced than those in other countries. While Kiwi startups have a high percentage of foreign customers and a more positive corporate interest in startups compared to other countries, fewer than half our startup growth teams have at least two years’ entrepreneurial experience.
So, in a relatively young startup ecosystem, how do Kiwi entrepreneurs and startup teams become more experienced, better understand foreign markets, and learn from other startup communities?
The Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) can help answer this question. EHF is a Fellowship programme and community for international and Kiwi entrepreneurs, investors and startup teams who are working towards developing solutions to global challenges from New Zealand.
Whilst international candidates get the benefit of a Global Impact Visa — available exclusively to EHF Fellows — for Kiwi candidates, among multiple benefits, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from their global peers, and create scalable global impact from New Zealand.
We highlight five reasons below why visionary Kiwi entrepreneurs and investors should apply for EHF.
(If you’re already ready to apply, check out all the details here.)
1. Help grow an ecosystem for global impact
New Zealand is doing something pretty special here, with the introduction of the Global Impact Visa (GIVs) — the world’s most entrepreneur-friendly visa. GIVs is also the first visa programme in the world to be rooted in creating impact, for both New Zealand and beyond. New Zealand has an opportunity to become a world leader in developing solutions that approach problems in a different way and seek to shift entire paradigms, with ventures that are profitable and scalable.
Embedding impact into business models is becoming increasingly commonplace and expected by society, with a Deloitte survey in 2015 finding that 47 percent of millennials say that the purpose of business is to ‘improve society/protect the environment’. Kiwi entrepreneurs will play an important role in working alongside international Fellows to grow an ecosystem for global impact in New Zealand.
There are many organisations in New Zealand who are already working in this space, and we intend to help amplify and complement their work. Leaders such as Lanzatech, The Mind Lab, and Wilding & Co are are great examples of future-thinking businesses which are taking a holistic, long-term view towards solving complex problems. The Tuaropaki Trust are integrating industries as diverse as horticulture, large-scale vermi-composting, dairy production and processing, value-add nutraceuticals, geothermal energy generation, and telecommunications, grounded in a commitment to kaitiakitanga and a co-ownership model that shares value amongst all members of their community. Meanwhile, Ākina Foundation, Enspiral and the Live the Dream accelerator are supporting the development and growth of both new and seasoned social enterprise ventures in New Zealand.
EHF seeks to help weave together the diverse approaches taken by many different communities, to nurture the growth of a national network committed to impact. We invite you to be part of this movement!
2. Join a cohort of global citizens
The Global Impact Visa is grounded in the notion of global citizenship — the idea that nowadays, people can live anywhere in the world with multiple home bases, and can contribute and create impact wherever they go. This concept is already familiar to Kiwis, who have a long history of travelling the world and doing business in many different markets.
Each EHF cohort is comprised of diverse Fellows coming from all corners of the world and representing many perspectives. With only 100 international and 20 Kiwi places available each year, EHF will be bringing together top talent into each cohort to support each other.
Kiwi Fellows can serve as ambassadors for New Zealand and connectors to regional networks, while international Fellows help provide Kiwis with perspectives from their respective parts of the world. Both Kiwi and international candidates are evaluated through the same process, and just as within a natural ecosystem, each individual contributes their unique talents, experiences and mindsets to nurture a thriving collective intelligence.
3. Events, retreats, and hands-on learning opportunities
Participation in EHF provides exclusive access to an induction week, Fellow retreats, skill-sharing sessions, workshops, demo days, and networking opportunities, that can help Kiwi entrepreneurs deeply connect and learn from their peers, mentors, and visiting entrepreneurs and investors.
The Edmund Hillary Fellowship is neither an accelerator nor an incubator, but we will be incorporating some events of a similar style that are typical of these models. The first of these is an induction week retreat that will span several days and allow you to really get to know the other Fellows, the EHF team and some of the wider network.
EHF will provide individualised support to each Fellow, checking in regularly, helping Kiwis access platforms to succeed, and co-creating the programme to best suit needs.
The flexibility of the Fellowship model also allows you the freedom to move around New Zealand and travel across the world as your business requires, attending those sessions that you find most useful.
4. Telling Kiwi entrepreneur stories to the world
EHF is in the business of supporting people who are working to shift entire paradigms, through innovation in the ways we engage with others, the planet and global economic and societal structures. The role of story is hugely important in this work.
Stories inspire and stories engage. They’re how we relate to the world around us, and they help us to to develop heuristic shortcuts to make sense of the constant barrage of information that is coming at us in the information age.
We will be actively helping Kiwi entrepreneurs tell their stories and achieve wider exposure to support their missions.
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”
— Steve Jobs
5. Global Networks of Support
Through hosting events such as New Frontiers, international roadshows and webinars, and leveraging partner networks, EHF has been building a strong network of mentors, ambassadors and supporters who are passionate about seeing Fellows succeed, both in New Zealand and across the world. The involvement of the Hillary Institute of International Leadership brings a network of internationally recognised Hillary Laureates, and a decade of experience in nurturing and supporting global impact communities. These networks can help Kiwi entrepreneurs gain regional market perspectives and expand into other parts of the globe.
“We know that strong networks and connections are increasingly important to economic activity, and that attracting talented migrants can help to transform our economy over time. The Edmund Hillary Fellowship builds on a story about the power of special individuals working within a supportive environment. It could help New Zealand become a smart, creative, ambitious, connected nation that takes new ideas to the world.”
- Hayden Glass, Economist; Co-author of Going Places: Migration, Economics and the Future of New Zealand.
As Kiwis, we welcome you to embrace a world-first, and become part of this global community. It’s an incredible way to benefit from the collective wisdom of a top-class group of entrepreneurs, investors, partners and mentors, and also a great way to contribute towards raising the tide for entrepreneurship and innovation in New Zealand.
Are you a visionary entrepreneur or investor building solutions to global problems? You can bring your vision to reality from New Zealand by joining the Edmund Hillary Fellowship community. Express interest here.
