Tātaki Auckland Unlimited earns EDNZ honours trifecta
Accolades for COVID-19 business support programme
Recognition for its ‘Activate Tāmaki Makaurau’ COVID-19 business support initiative, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s economic and cultural agency, has won the Best Practice Premier Award at the annual Economic Development New Zealand (EDNZ) awards.
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Adding icing to the cake, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited also won the Best Practice Award for Business Recovery Support and the Commendation Award for Inclusive Economic Development for Project Ikuna, a program which connects eligible employers with education providers to upskill Auckland’s Pacific workforce in key sectors.
Designed and launched when the Auckland region was in a 107-day lockdown from August to December 2021, Activate Tāmaki Makaurau and led the delivery of a $60 million Government support package for Auckland businesses impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive, Nick Hill said Activate Tāmaki Makaurau was critical for many businesses and injected a much-needed boost into the local economy, assisting thousands of businesses to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over the six months the programme was open, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and partners approved more than 12,700 individual applications from 9000 businesses seeking business advice and implementation support,” he said.
“This was invaluable to businesses experiencing the impacts of lockdowns and international border closures.
“The initiatives responded to the unique challenges and opportunities of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s economy, meeting its immediate need for fast and effective business support at scale through the extended lockdown of 2021, while harnessing the strength of its diversity for a better and more inclusive future.”
Minister of Economic Development, the Hon. Stuart Nash, extended his congratulations to Tātaki Auckland Unlimited for the Activate Tāmaki Makaurau accolades.
“This mighty program has become a best-practice model for dedicated regional economic development,” he said.
“And it has wildly exceeded my expectations. Even though there’s no global playbook on how to recover from a pandemic, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, and its business support partners, have done a terrific job at supporting Auckland’s local business sector.”
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
