South Taranaki Enterprise Hub
About This Project
BAF worked with in partnership with Manifold Co-Working to support South Taranaki District Council and Hawera Bizlink to establish an enterprise hub based in Hawera, but serving the South Taranaki district.
By understanding and leveraging recent co-working trends (particularly in a post COVID-19 world) and using proven entrepreneurial ecosystem building tools the project aimed to achieve the following outcomes in South Taranaki:
- An activated and connected community of like-minded entrepreneurial and startup folk passionate about building sustainable businesses in South Taranaki and surrounding areas.
- An obvious rise in entrepreneurial activity in the area.
- A shift towards Impact Enterprise, businesses focusing on social and environmental outcomes .
- More people with new skills and capability – accustomed to a new way of working and the future of work.
- Talent attraction. South Taranaki as a destination for remote workers.
- Talent retention. Youth have an exciting alternative to leaving the region for jobs or education.
Evaluation metrics have also been developed through Massey Enterprise at Massey University and will help to show the long-term impact of the initiative. The Enterprise Hub was prioritised by BAF because it builds on BAF’s research identifying the potential of enterprise and social enterprise to contribute to the socio-economic sustainability of smaller urban and rural townships (see our Impact section).
The Enterprise Hub was opened in early 2023 as Te W’anake | The Foundry.
