The ultimate goal of the Local First movement is:

To reinforce community spirit and pride while also helping to increase connectivity between local residents and local businesses 

As a Team of 5 million we have worked together to reduce the affect of Covid 19 and, compared to most of the world, we are doing a pretty good job. 
Like the rest of the world our economy has taken a kicking with many businesses laying off staff and downsizing or even closing the doors forever.
We rely on the Government to take care of the “big picture” by making informed decisions on how to resolve our major issues. We all helped by following their health instructions like wearing masks and social distancing but how can we help to fix our economy and keep people working or help to create more jobs?

Below is an extract from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise:

New Zealand is a nation of small and micro business – including self-employed. Defined as those with fewer than 20 employees, there are approximately 530,000 small businesses in New Zealand representing 97% of all firms. They account for 28 per cent of employment and contribute over a quarter of New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP). (Data source: Stats NZ.)

New Zealand has a higher percentage of small and micro businesses than other countries, noting that most countries define small businesses as having fewer than 50 employees. By comparison, our large enterprises are generally smaller than those overseas. 

The recovery of New Zealand’s small businesses post COVID-19 is vital to the sustainability and growth of the economy and to the wellbeing of thousands of small business owners and the people they employ. They provide jobs and incomes across all parts of the country; provide the goods and services that keep our communities thriving; and help showcase New Zealand as a world-class place to live and do business.

Local businesses subscribing to our concept are listed in the Local Directory pages. In return we ask that everyone that believes in this concept only purchase goods and services from businesses displaying our logo.