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Philippines entrepreneur to learn from Canterbury farmers
A top social entrepreneur from the Philippines will learn about New Zealand’s agricultural technology and sustainable farming initiatives on a visit to Canterbury next week.
Cherrie Atilano will visit New Zealand from February 1 to 8 through the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative, managed by the Asia New Zealand Foundation for the New Zealand Government. The initiative is designed to strengthen links between businesspeople in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and those in New Zealand. This year marks the 40th anniversary of New Zealand-ASEAN relations.
Atilano is the co-founder and executive director of social enterprise Agricool - which aims to make farming appealing to young Filipinos - and Blue Bamboo, which focuses on the planting of bamboo for its sustainability benefits.
A World Economic Forum "Global Shaper" and International Youth Foundation "2014 Laureate Global Fellow", she will speak at Christchurch’s Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus on Wednesday February 4, in an event organised in conjunction with Ministry of Awesome https://attending.io/events/moaguestcherrieatilano?utm_campaign=event_creation&utm_source=email. She will also spend a day in Canterbury with student Volunteer Army co-founder Sam Johnson, who will accompany her to farms, and will visit Lincoln University’s faculty of agribusiness and commerce.
The Philippines is New Zealand’s 12th largest export market, and one of its top five export markets for dairy.
Two Indonesian entrepreneurs will also visit New Zealand in February through ASEAN Young Business Leaders initiative:
- Reza Rajasa (February 8 to 14): Managing director of Arthindo Group, an energy company. Reza is interested in learning from New Zealand’s experience with sustainable energy and in potential technology transfers in the geothermal sector.
Aldi Haryopratomo (February 26 to March 6): Haryopratomo is co-founder and CEO of Ruma, a social enterprise that recruits and trains thousands of agents to help improve access to mobile technology in low-income communities.
To learn more about the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative: http://asianz.org.nz/our-work/action-asia-business/asean-initiative
The Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to building New Zealand’s links with Asia through a range of programmes, including business, culture, education, media, research and a Leadership Network.
