New Zealand Looks to California

Auckland, New Zealand



New Zealand, one of the world's most entrepreneurial countries, is creating business connections within the State of California.



Among the initiatives:

Today Air New Zealand inaugurated new direct service between Auckland and San Francisco. According to the New Zealand Consul General, Darryl Dunn, it will mean an expansion in trade and business between the United States and New Zealand.

Last week New Zealand launched a "beachhead" for information and communications technology (ICT) companies in Redwood Shores, California. The beachhead will provide an office base for New Zealand companies looking to participate in the ICT sector in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

Partnerships between New Zealand and the California film industry have produced recent box-office successes like The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Though small in population (4 million), New Zealand is a world leader for entrepreneurial innovation according to the Kauffman Foundation's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. New Zealand has particular strengths in information technology, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing (e.g., superyachts).





One of the reasons New Zealand gave for these moves is its recognition that the United States -- California specifically -- leads the world in the information technology, communications technology, and movie industries. Another reason, no doubt, is that the United States is a major source of investment capital in all three industries. Indeed, 80% of venture funding worldwide happens in the United States, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.