Queenstown Economic Transformation and Resilience Fund

This fund is aligned to the Queenstown Lakes District Grow Well Whaiora – Spatial Plan to improve district wellbeing.

Main outcomes

There are 5 main outcomes of the Queenstown Economic Transformation and Resilience Fund.

• Resilience: Increase the level of non-tourism economic activity in the district.
• Wellbeing: Catalyse commercial opportunities that create new and higher wage jobs.
• Productive: Create additional value.
• Sustainable: Supporting opportunities that deliver long term outcomes.
• Māori-enabling: Providing opportunities for Māori to realise aspirations in the district’s transformation.

How the fund works

• The Fund will support established businesses with proposals not related to the tourism sector.
• Loans are likely to be the primary mechanism, although equity or an underwrite instrument may be considered. Co-funding from the applicant is also expected.
• The $18 million Fund aims to be fully allocated by November 2023.
• The Fund will leverage off, and align to the priorities of the district as outlined in the Grow Well Whaiora - Spatial Plan.

Criteria

The following criteria are needed to enable businesses and initiatives to benefit from the fund:

• be commercial in nature
• be self-sustaining over time by private sector and/or local government
• enable Māori to realise aspirations in the economic transformation
• be implementable within the Fund budget timeframes of November 2023
• not be targeted to tourism sector/firms
• be able to create additional value and avoid duplicating existing efforts
• align with objectives of Government's Industry Transformation Plans, including underpinning more environmentally sustainable practices and more equitable outcomes for those living and working in the community
• be commercially viable with returns to catalyse new and higher wage jobs in the district and surrounding areas be derived from and/or supported by local actors and institutions.

The process of the fund

• Application process – To enquire about the Fund please email Kanoa@mbie.govt.nz
• Step 1 – Initial engagementwill be undertaken between Kānoa and the business to ascertain its appropriateness for the Fund.
• Step 2 – Kānoa present the opportunity to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development for consideration.
• Step 3 – Kānoa, working with the business, develop a business casewhich will be put forward to decision making Ministers.

Example of how the fund could support an opportunity

Case A: An established Wanaka company is looking to accelerate a new product into the market. The product has progressed beyond trial stage and is ready for commercialisation. The opportunity will result in 12 new permanent high skilled roles in Wanaka.

The Wanaka company has approached the Fund to help accelerate the opportunity into market, and has been offered a $1.2 million concessionary loan facility toward the anticipated $2.5 million cost of doing so. The loan term is 5 years and concessionary interest rates are dependent on jobs created and retained by the company.