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Kiwi entrepreneurs lead international counterparts... but remain wary of election result
Thu, 18th Sep 2014
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Compared to their global counterparts, more Kiwi entrepreneurs are profitable, more have increased staff and more have grown revenues in the past six months - but the imminent election is still unsettling nerves.

This according to insights from the Global Entrepreneur Indicator survey by the world-wide Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) including its New Zealand chapters.

The Indicator published this month (Sep. 2014) is for the six month period to 31 August - it shows 62 per cent of EO NZ members saw increased net profits, 87 per cent increased full time employees and all maintained or increased their access to capital.

David Serville, President of the Auckland Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, says the survey results are reassuring for New Zealand.

“Compared to EO members worldwide, businesses owned by Kiwi entrepreneurs are in great shape,” Serville says.

“It’s fantastic to see such strong financial growth in our members. However when it comes to the confidence in our country’s economic environment, we’re lagging on the positivity we had six months ago.”

In March 2014, 94 per cent of those surveyed believed NZ’s economic environment would improve in the coming six months; that’s now dropped to 62 per cent.

“It’s still an above average optimistic outlook but with the election looming - and with it the possibility of a change in government and new policy agendas - it’s clear our business owners are more wary and that economic issues are ranking high on their election list of concerns," Serville adds.

“Issues weighing on EO members’ minds include potential interest rate hikes which will make borrowing and servicing debt more difficult, the potential introduction of a capital gains tax which could add significant transaction costs and the overall stability of the exchange rate."

Despite these concerns, Serville notes that overall the results still show the Kiwi entrepreneurial spirit shining through.

“Looking forward however, the Indicator shows they still remain positive with members expecting to continue to grow both full time and part time staff numbers as well as improve their profits above average," he adds.

“Additionally an encouraging 93 per cent are even inclined to start a new business - it’s great to see the entrepreneurial spirit remains alive and well here in New Zealand."

The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Global Entrepreneur Indicator is generated every six months and surveys members from its 144 chapters worldwide across 48 countries.