The Eastern Bay of Plenty – A Place Where Talent Should Want to Live.

Karl Gradon from Eastern Bay of Plenty Economic Development Agency Toi EDA kicked off the first Whakatane Institute of Directors forum discussion of 2020 in our PPL office premises this week. He started with showing the usual statistics that tell a grim story about the Eastern Bay of Plenty: Low income; low economic growth, combined with high unemployment and high deprivation. However, the recent tragedy at Whakaari has shown a very different face of our area: One of bravery, compassion and arguably more importantly, one where Iwi, Government and the business community have shown that they can work together unanimity to deal with this tragedy.

This is promising indeed, because this oneness is one of the many beauties of the Whakatane area. This symbiosis between Iwi, government and business is creating many interesting opportunities to create thriving communities in this stunning part of New Zealand, which is changing the narrative, uplifting the image of the region and starts to attract talented people. In true spirit of the late Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of making New Zealand ‘a place where talent wants to live’.

Productivity People is a perfect example of a NZ-wide consulting company, with our head office based in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.