Indian business in NZ showing 'diversity and strength,' Key

In a packed events room in Auckland, hundreds of excited Indian businesspeople gathered this week to applaud their community’s economic success in New Zealand.

The 2014 Indian Business Awards recognised a notable set of young people this year operating new and franchised businesses across New Zealand.

Among their older and more experienced commercial peers, the young Indians – both expatriates and New Zealand-born –showed healthy entrepreneurship and talent proving the community will only grow

Prime Minster John Key was in attendance at the awards, personally handing many of the trophies to the winners.

He says the celebratory event is a graphic demonstration of the diversity and strength of not just the Indian community but the business community in New Zealand and what the country is striving to achieve.

“Over the past couple of weeks we’ve had a number of world leaders in town, including the Chinese president. They marvelled at the economic vibrancy of New Zealand but also at the diversity of our country and the things that we are achieving.

“We worked out a long time ago that no one owes us a living, we have to make our way in the world and we’re doing that fabulously well,” Mr Key says.

Mr Key says India’s new-ish Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a “very impressive man, who comes to his job with a very long list of credentials for what he did as mayor of Gujarat before his top-level job.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Mr Modi is committed to making sure India stays as a very significant economic force. I think that speaks volumes for the potential of our relationship together because, as we know through this room, we have the capacity to link our country to India,” he says.

Mr Key says New Zealand spends a lot of time talking about China. The country has 1.4 billion people, is New Zealand’s largest export market and the second largest source of students and tourists.

“But the reality is that India has very similar demographics and we have the capacity to do the same thing with India. So it’s a very exciting time for New Zealand,” he says.

The list of award categories and winners are below:

Business Excellence in Retail
• Jesters Mt Wellington

Business Excellence in Innovation
• Nauhria Precast Ltd

Business Excellence in Marketing
• Crest Clean South and East Auckland

Business Excellence in Customer Service
• Global Financial Services Ltd

Business Excellence in ICT
• Radius Networks Ltd

Best Small Business
• IBBZ Accounting Ltd

Best Medium Sized Business
• Global Financial Services Ltd

Best Large Business
• Nauhria Precast Ltd

Business Excellence in Export to India
• Patton Ltd

Best Accountant of the Year
• Ravinesh Kumaran, GMP Dairy

Best Young Entrepreneur
• Ritika Bhargava, Physio Revolution Ltd

Best Businesswoman
• Ronita Sharma, Forever Shine Beauty Therapy

Supreme Business of the Year
• Nauhria Precast Ltd

nsmith@nbr.co.nz