UFB fuels Xero Hawke’s Bay move

If you’re wondering why the government was so keen to build a fibre network look no further than Victoria White’s Xero boss brings jobs to Hawke’s Bay in Hawke’s Bay Today.

She writes:

Next year, Hawke’s Bay will join the likes of San Francisco, London, and Singapore, as a base for global software company Xero.

The ever-expanding company will be opening a new office in Napier — potentially at the new Ahuriri Tech Hub — which will create 30 support jobs over the next 18 months to join the company’s global customer experience team and specialist payroll experts.

The story is mainly concerned with the region’s potential for acting as a hub for other technology companies. That’s as it should be for a local newspaper. Good luck with that project, the more tech jobs in regional New Zealand the better. Xero is already helping to pull the national technology economy along.

Three-quarters of the way down the page, White gets to the important point. She quotes Hawke’s Bay-based MP and Small Business Minister Craig Foss, who says:

“Fibre has enabled world-leading innovative companies, such as Xero, to be based in our stunning region – living and working the dream.”