Growth NZ is a non-partisan group backed by leaders across business, technology, academia, and community. We advocate for ambitious, practical, and bipartisan change to create a New Zealand that sustains high-speed economic growth. 

We are an advocacy group focused on putting growth on the agenda.

Led by Kiwi disruptors with a track record of unlocking immense growth across both the private and public sectors, our ambitious growth goal is benchmarked against overseas peers who have shown us what happens when nations support their export winners, nurture their high-level talent, and leverage private success into public services. 

Growth NZ maps out policy approaches to help decision makers better understand how to approach high growth areas like investment, talent, and infrastructure, so they can unlock sustained and meaningful growth that all New Zealanders can benefit from.

Our non-partisan strategy aligns public and private-sectors to guide policy and reform across key sectors.

The origins of Growth NZ started with our leaders who had the belief that we could use growth as a tool to unlock New Zealand’s full potential. Our leaders are industry trailblazers coming from a vast range of different backgrounds. Together, they all have the same goal: make New Zealand a more prosperous place. That is how their bold goal was created: the pursuit of achieving 5% year-on-year GDP growth by 2035. 

To create a more prosperous New Zealand for all.

To reignite New Zealand’s economic potential so future generations inherit a country rich in opportunity, talent, and shared prosperity.

To build a shared national commitment to sustained economic growth by shaping public aspiration and delivering credible policy pathways to make it real.

Yes! We believe in Integrity, Non-Partisan, Evidence-led ambition , Practical impact, Partnership , Discipline & clarity, Future stewardship

We want to accomplish the delivery of ~5% GDP-per-capita growth every year through to 2035. Lift average income to ~USD 78,000 per capita. Fund world-class public services, retain global-grade talent, and position New Zealand alongside the world’s highest-performing small nations.

Brendan Vercoe is our spokesperson for Growth NZ. Brendan builds globally scalable companies from New Zealand science and food innovation. Where he specialises in turning clinical and functional IP into market-ready products. Bridging research, manufacturing, capital, and international go-to-market. Brendan has a personal driver: “that my kids choose to live in New Zealand without compromise.”

Our full manifesto will be published shortly.

Register your interest via the contact form HERE

You can support Growth NZ by contributing capability, connections, or resources that strengthen our credibility and impact:

• Help us get the right people on the bus: founders, investors, operators, and policymakers who care about long-term growth

• Contribute subject-matter expertise, particularly in Education, Innovation, Talent (Immigration), Investment (Finance) and Revenue (Taxation)

• Support access to transparent, patient funding that enables independent, long-term work

• Engage with feedback and challenge our thinking to improve policy quality and relevance

• Help build a future where all New Zealanders, young or old, rural or urban, can thrive in a high-opportunity, high-wage, future-ready economy

Our approach is to communicate growth policies to officials and decision makers this is key for the adoption of our policies and more importantly championed. This is done carefully however, to ensure that Growth NZ remains politically neutral and a credible contributor to government policy. 

We meet with: 

• Political engagement 

  • Involves interactions with government entities at various levels to influence decision making processors, legislation, and policies.

• Media engagement 

  • Focuses on interaction with media outlets to shape public opinion, raise awareness, and disseminate information about organisational goals. 

• Stakeholder engagement 

  • Centers around building relationships and collaborating with individuals or groups who have a vested interest in or are affected by the organisations activities

• Industry engagement

  • Involves collaboration within the industry to address common challenges, share best practices, and advocate for industry-specific policies or regulation. 

• Internal engagement

  • Pertains to communication and collaboration within the organisation, fostering a sense of belonging, alignment with goals. and participation in decision-making processes among employees 

• Community engagement

  • Focuses on interacting with local communities, building positive relationships, addressing community needs, and contributing to community development initiatives. 

We are a nonpartisan organization operates without affiliation to, or endorsement of, any political party, candidate, or ideology, focusing instead on our five high level growth pillars so that we can look beyond the electoral cycle and create long-term prosperity. 

Without a clear set target, there is no direction. We felt New Zealand needed a bold and ambitious goal that was grounded in evidence. So, we chose a credible peer standard, Denmark, that in many ways has found the secret to sustainable growth and higher living standards. There, the Danish enjoy healthy levels of growth, low levels of inflation, and a considerably high quality of life.

From there, we measured the per-capita gap between our two economies, and back-solved the growth rate that would close that gap within a decade. The 5% target is not an arbitrary number plucked out of thin air; it’s the rate we need to catch up, without relying on population growth or political gimmicks.

Sustained growth requires long-term ambition. We know that growing an economy is what lifts our living standards and makes New Zealand a place where Kiwis want to stay. For years we have seen the can kicked down the road to accommodate short-term political cycles. Without a strong, bold commitment to growth that escapes this cycle – New Zealand will continue down its path of malaise.

Advocating for an evidence-based strategy for our nation’s leaders to adopt is how we see New Zealand reaching its immense potential, where there is opportunity for every New Zealander to live and thrive