The government has announced the appointment of a 13-member Small Business Council to advise on strategic opportunities to improve the performance of the sector.

According to Small Business Minister Stuart Nash, the newly established council has a tightly focused mandate and a fixed one-year term to deliver. It will help develop a strategy to drive improvement and innovation in the small business sector and will see small-and-medium-sized enterprises maximise future opportunities and play their part in helping create a sustainable, productive and inclusive New Zealand economy.

“I have purposely cast the net wide for the members of the council and deliberately sought out some of New Zealand’s largest enterprises to play a role, in recognition of the connections and networks that are vital to helping small businesses thrive,” Nash noted.

The council includes representatives from small and large businesses, financial institutions, academia, education providers, tax experts and government agencies. Firms and organisations like Xero, The Icehouse, Fonterra, Chambers of Commerce and the Sustainable Business Council are represented.

In addition, the council will advise on whether there is a case for establishing a Small Business Institute within a New Zealand tertiary institution.

It will be chaired by Tenby Powell, who has a long history in the SME sector. The deputy chair is Dr. Deborah Shepherd, a distinguished academic from Auckland University. It will meet monthly.