More Innovation And Clever Thinking Within The Business Sector

Mayor Alistair Sowman attended this week’s Chamber of Commerce lunch where the Chief Executive of Business New Zealand Phil O’Reilly stressed the need for more innovation and clever thinking within the business sector.  

Acknowledging Marlborough’s situation as a low-wage region, Mr O’Reilly said it was essential to look for ways to change that, whether it was aiming at high-end tourism or maximising primary sector returns. Mr O’Reilly’s view is that there is a vast untapped pool of intellectual property within New Zealand business and better applying that knowledge could unleash enormous growth.

“We are considered world leaders in dairy, meat, wine, forestry and fishery production – but we are not recognised for the commercialisation of the intellectual property in these sectors,” he said.

Mr Sowman says, while it wasn’t easy to create jobs in the current climate and much depended on central government policy, it was important to identify hidden opportunities and clever ways of doing business with potential to help our local economy on a pathway out of this recession.