The Ecosystem Insights blog frequently covers the impact that entrepreneurs can have at the national and city level, but community-level growth also deserves attention. In a study of sixty-eight small towns throughout New Zealand, researchers observed that as local government’s environment becomes inactive due to a lack of resources and political circumstance, community leaders and local entrepreneurs began to directly support local economic growth.
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN GROWTH
The study found many cases where community-based organizations worked to improve their communities by taking steps to improve the overall quality of life within their communities they have:
- Provided spaces for entrepreneurs to meet and work,
- Organized projects such as markets and community gardens, and
- Held heritage events and festivals to attract new people to the town.
The community led actions differentiated small towns that continued to grow from those that struggled to attract talent and new industries.
ENTREPRENEUR-DRIVEN GROWTH
Other towns experienced growth due to one passionate entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs that were committed to transforming their communities. While different entrepreneurs had diverse approaches to development, they all worked to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem through a combination of these steps:
- Attract more businesses through the creation of small business groups,
- Support economic diversification,
- Encourage other entrepreneurs and businesses to relocate to the town,
- And invest capital into the community.
These findings support previous Endeavor research on how quality of life and entrepreneurs reinvesting in their communities are necessary for the economic development of a region.
The full report on New Zealand is available to Local Economy subscribers, here.
Contributed by Emily Luepker
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