NZTE Unlocks Opportunities For Kiwi Businesses In India

Saturday, 11 January 2025, 8:26 pm
Article: RNZ

Blessen
Tom, journalist

The government agency
charged with helping New Zealand businesses to grow overseas
is ramping up efforts to strengthen ties with India through
the second phase of its Illuminate India
programme.

Launched last year, the New Zealand Trade
and Enterprise programme aims to provide Kiwi exporters with
a structured learning pathway to navigate India’s dynamic
business environment.

The Go India segment in 2025 is
expected to feature two immersive programmes in March and
May that have been designed to accelerate market
understanding and entry.

“Illuminate India takes New
Zealand exporters through three tailored stages: Know India,
Go India and Grow India,” said Graham Rouse, New Zealand’s
Trade commissioner and consul general for India and South
Asia.

“These stages are designed for market
understanding, immersion and, ultimately, market entry and
acceleration.”

Rouse highlighted the Go India segment
as a curated, multi-day immersion programme.

“It’s
crafted to expose well-positioned New Zealand businesses to
India’s fast-growing economy, enabling them to learn in days
what could otherwise take months or longer to achieve,” he
said.

The programme aimed to address outdated market
perceptions of the South Asian giant, Rouse
said.

“We’ve observed increased interest in India, but
market knowledge is often low,” he said. “Go India is
designed to bridge this gap.”

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NZTE has identified two
broad sectors of focus: technology and manufacturing, and
food, beverage and consumer goods (FBCG).

Within the
technology and manufacturing space, areas of opportunity
include IT services, software as a service, digital
transformation, agritech, horticulture, infrastructure and
green technologies.

“Government initiatives in India
are driving demand by making it easier and more attractive
to do business, while enhancing the country’s manufacturing
capabilities and trade across industries,” Rouse
said.

In the FBCG sector, India’s position as the
world’s fifth-largest consumer market is a key
draw.

Household consumption nearly doubled in a decade
to reach US$2.1 trillion in 2023 on the back of
urbanization, rising disposable incomes and changing
lifestyles.

The Illuminate India programme builds on
recent diplomatic milestones.

In March, Foreign
Minister Winston Peters visited India and, in August,
welcomed Indian President Droupadi Murmu during a three-day
state visit to New Zealand.

Trade Minister Todd
McClay has been particularly active, making four visits to
India last year and meeting his Indian counterpart, Piyush
Goyal, three times abroad.

“Ultimately, the
[Illuminate India] programme aims to increase the number of
New Zealand exporters ready to enter and grow in India,”
Rouse said. “This will foster trade, partnerships and mutual
understanding between the two nations.”

Sunil Kaushal,
general manager of the India New Zealand Business Council,
praised NZTE’s renewed focus on India.

“Kudos to NZTE
for rethinking their strategy on India,” Kaushal said.
“Initiatives like this will excite New Zealand
exporters.”

Kaushal expressed optimism about Prime
Minister Christopher Luxon’s anticipated
visit to India in 2025.

“We hope not just the
prime minister, but other ministers also visit India to
strengthen ties,” he said.

However, Kaushal
highlighted a need for tangible progress.

“I hope 2025
will finally see the distance between the two nations
bridged with a direct flight,” he said.

“We may be a
nation of just over 5 million, but we play an integral part
in the Pacific,” he added, expressing hope for a stronger
bilateral relationship moving
forward.

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