Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce is administering two tranches of recovery funding (exclusive of primary sector support) on behalf of central government, totaling $18 million to date, a statement from the Chamber says.
A further $25 million in funding for cyclone recovery for flood affected regions across the country was announced on 18 April, but details of this new funding are not yet forthcoming, nor how much will go to Hawke’s Bay.
Applications for grants from the first two rounds of funding closed on 3 April, with 1738 applications received.
So far $13m of the $18m has been paid out to 945 businesses, with some businesses yet to be notified of the outcome.
The Chamber released a data sheet providing insights into the businesses that had applied for recovery funding and how the money was allocated:
More than half of the applicants, 53%, were from Napier City, with 35% from Hastings District, 6% from Wairoa and 5% from Central Hawke’s Bay.
Requests for funding totalled $42.5m; the average amount applicants asked for was $24,585. Thirty-seven Pasifika and 252 Māori businesses applied.
Most applicants were from the accomodation, hospitality and tourism sectors (15%), followed by construction (13%); agriculture, forestry and fishing (13%); and retail (10%). More than a third were from ‘other’ sectors.
Of those applying, 27% were sole traders, 51% were businesses with between one and five full-time equivalent employees, and 12% with between six and 12 full-time equivalent employees.
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