At the Economic Development New Zealand awards gala dinner on 13 October Mackenzie District Council were awarded a Commendation Award for Business Recovery Support, for their project supporting the district’s business community during the disruption of the COVID pandemic.
The project involved the establishment of a Community Recovery Advisory Group (CRAG) to represent all sectors and ensure a community lead approach and facilitate and encourage the recovery of the Mackenzie District.
Noticing that many businesses and community groups were falling through the cracks of eligibility for main-stream funding, Council partnered with the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to create a unique solution within the CRAG recovery objectives
A support package was created in which Makenzie District Council provided the funding and initial framework, and South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce delivered the package that provided customised training and co-funding specific to individual business development needs.
Mackenzie CE, Angela Oosthuizen, said ‘We are delighted to accept this award. We are proud to have been able to assist an important part of our community with this project. We operated on a principle of ‘A Hand-Up, not a Hand-Out’ with a 50/50 funding agreement with the business to ensure buy-in and commitment.”
Fifty-six Mackenzie businesses received support across multiple sectors, including tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, aquaculture, construction, education, healthcare, retail and not-for-profits.
The awards gala dinner was co-sponsored by Ara Institute of Canterbury and Data n Dashboards.