Kiwi ingenuity, and an independent ‘can do', attitude are fast becoming global icons with New Zealand being named the best place to start a business worldwide.

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker, with some of the businesses that have established themselves in Tauranga. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

According to World Bank, New Zealand is the number one place to start a business along with placing third for the ease of doing business – the same position as last year's global listings.

In deciding the overall rankings, the judging criteria included starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker puts the prominent global placings down, not only for New Zealand but Tauranga, to a peaceful way of life with an abundance of talented professionals in an array of professions.

In the last two years Priority One has run a business campaign looking to attract the right established businesses to the city, with a designated website and promotional billboards in Auckland and Wellington – which is paying dividends.

'Through our business attraction campaign we have come across a few businesses and people who have moved here, and just off the top of my head there are a couple of guys that have set up technology businesses here,” says Andrew.

'And why they have come here, in my perspective, is we have a good lifestyle, ultra-fast broadband and access to talented people; and I think that's what makes the difference here.

'When you spin it down to Tauranga, it's no different; we have got the balance of life here.”

One of those businesses relatively new to the city is technology-based company Teamwork Project Manager – set up by one of its founders Sam Kidd.

Sam, a Kiwi based in Ireland for the last 20 years, expanded the Irish company to Tauranga in a move to get full 24-hour coverage across the differing time zones and says 'it is paying dividends”.

Teamwork PM is a cloud-based teamwork and project management software application that helps managers, staff and clients to work more productively online – with a large client base in America and Europe.

'I've been here since March; and because we are a tech-based company we heard the fibre was being rolled out here, so the infrastructure was definitely an incentive,” says Sam.

'There is also that ‘work hard, play hard' mentality which I like. The place is great and incredibly easy to get around.”

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason says as a country we should be proud of the achievements, 'because they make us realise how lucky we are in a global context despite having a tendency to moan about too much government compliance or other barriers to business”.

And the fact New Zealand scored highly, on average 10 in all criteria, actually goes to the heart of the Kiwi character, adds Max.

'Kiwis are by nature independent and pragmatic, honest and decent, tolerant of individuals and intolerant of bureaucracy, and avoid conflict and confrontation.

'Tie all these together and it's no surprise we have an economy characterised by freedom and very little corruption.”

New Zealand registers similar results in surveys by ‘Forbes Magazine' and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (a combined universities study).