Enterprise extends to Cook Islands

The Youth Enterprise Scheme that has seen many of New Zealand’s up-and-coming visionaries emerge is set to expand into the Cook Islands.

The announcement was made during the fourth session of the private sector dialogue and will involve funding from the New Zealand Aid Programme to set up the initiative.

The model will be based on the New Zealand’s system, which sees groups of children create companies and are paired up with a business mentor to go through the specifics of the business and how to financially ensure it can survive.

Young Enterprise Trust CEO Terry Shubkin said discussions had been held with Tereora College and Titikaveka College.

”We’ll be providing training for teachers and we’ll be contracting a regional co-ordinator,“ Shubkin said.

Head of New Zealand Aid Programme Amanda Ellis said the partnership between New Zealand and Cook Islands would give students the chance to uncover their hidden entrepreneurs.

”It will be a competition for school children who are being encouraged to find a business solution to development problems,“ Ellis said.

The trust will be holding meetings with the Chamber of Commerce today to discuss the possibility of providing business mentors for the programme.

The students will be hoping to follow the example of Sam Mackwell, who is in his final year of St Thomas of Canterbury College in Christchurch.

The 17-year-old Mackwell spoke during the private sector dialogue about two projects he was involved in. The first, an emergency power generator known as the Lion Advance, was designed for camping, tramping and more importantly, surviving a natural disaster.

The idea saw him and his Young Enterprise Scheme group, known as ACE (Advanced Clean Energies) secure the New Zealand Aid Programme Award in the scheme.

The dual-disk unit is used by boiling water on a stove. It sits on top of the pot and needs a smaller pot of cold water on top.

The Lion Advance uses a steam vent and a power output that uses a common USB socket to charge cellphones. A USB cable featuring a 1W LED light connection also allows light to be converted from the disk.

The first production line had completely sold out at the Mitre10 Mega store in Christchurch in what was a big vote of confidence for the young man.

The second project is a gas turbine engine that focuses on sustainability by using biodiesel and ensuring the engine burns fuel cleanly.

The biggest point of difference was that it will be a ”low cost engine, which will also be suitable for us in developing countries,“ Mackwell’s release said.

Mackwell intends on attending Canterbury University to study mechanical engineering while continuing to work on the engine.