DEFENCE
New NZTE support for industry Graeme Solloway, program lead for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in the Australian defence market, talked at the NZDIA July Member Meeting on the implications of Budget 2020 and NZTE’s Australian Defence Program.
Graeme Solloway is Programme Leader Australia Defence at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. He was previously Market Manager Australia Pacific (2014-19) and Trade Commissioner to South Korea (2008-12).
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How NZTE can help exporters NZTE’s purpose – to grow companies internationally – bigger, better, faster – for the good of New Zealand – is based on an understanding that New Zealand is a trading nation, and on a belief that New Zealand is good for the world. “We’re all about adding value rather than volume,” Graeme Solloway told his physical and virtual NZDIA Member Meeting audience. “We’re in it for the long term, so we want to be involved. We want businesses who are committed to building long term markets.” NZTE’s customers include New Zealand businesses exporting overseas, and overseas businesses looking to invest in New Zealand. In terms of exporters, the government agency has a big focus on what it refers to as the ‘Focus 700 customers’ cohort, which includes companies in the areas of technology, manufacturing, and food and beverage. According to Mr Solloway, NZTE can “help you grow your capability, help boost your global reach, reach your customers and potential customers, understand what those markets look like… invest in your growth, and connect you into other businesses.” “We [also] have a whole program around coalitions… these are shared opportunities where businesses come together to achieve a particular challenge in a market, and that’s something which I think there’s plenty of potential for within a defence market context.”
COVID-19 response According to Mr Solloway, NZTE pivoted quickly in response to COVID-19, including immediately standing up a website for exporters and investors with information on the effects and impact of COVID-19. The agency ran cashflow clinics and contracted PWC, KPMG, and Deloitte to run workshops to over 400 of its customers on business continuity, which were eagerly taken up. “We stood up a whole freight organisation, recognising that [our customers] faced tremendous air freight capacity constraints,” he added. “ And that’s now migrated over to being run out of the Ministry of Transport.” “We made available our Beachhead Advisories Network around the world to provide support for customers that needed immediate assistance in understanding impacts in particular markets, and we pumped a whole lot more money into regional business partners that impacted on over 6,000 companies around New Zealand.” Budget 2020 Budget 2020 saw a single investment of an additional $216 million over four years into NZTE to fuel the recovery process. NZTE is now looking at increasing its Focus customer cohort. “We’re going through a process at the moment of analysing what that size will be, whether there’ll be 900 or 1200 or something like that,” said Mr Solloway. “We haven’t made those decisions yet, but that support has been increased.” Line of Defence
