Immigration as an Economic Catalyst

Rush CTO and founder Danu recently sat down with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities to discuss the critical role immigration plays in New Zealand's economic future and tech ecosystem. The conversation explored how welcoming global talent isn't just good policy—it's essential for business innovation and growth in Aotearoa.

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Why Immigration Matters for New Zealand's Economy

During the interview, Danu emphasised how critical immigration is for New Zealand's economic landscape and future prosperity. He articulated a clear vision for how opening our borders to global talent directly benefits the country's business ecosystem.

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"Building New Zealand's welcoming nature to immigrants is actually super important for our economic health," Danu stated, setting the tone for a discussion that went beyond diversity platitudes to concrete economic reasoning.

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Immigration as the Path to a Stronger Domestic Market

One of Danu's most compelling insights focused on how immigration could rapidly strengthen New Zealand's domestic economy:

Danu's commitment to diversity extends beyond his company. His involvement with the Ethnic Xchange symposium reflects his belief that immigration is vital to New Zealand's economic health.

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"I'd like to see a bigger local domestic economy. It creates a battleground for business to not have to deal with the complexity of exporting straight away. And the only way we can really do that in a relatively fast way is through immigration settings," he explains.

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For Danu, attracting global talent is about creating network effects that drive positive change. He sees initiatives like Ethnic Xchange as crucial for bringing stakeholders together—including government ministers and businesses—to develop strategies that make New Zealand more welcoming to immigrants.

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Immigration, Innovation and Rush's Diverse Workplace

Immigration isn't just an abstract economic policy for Rush—it's a lived reality. The company has built a globally diverse team that recently earned them the Stuff Best Workplace Award for medium-sized businesses.

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"If you only hire from within that market, it can be quite challenging," Danu noted. "New Zealand, as much as I love it, we don't have a monopoly on the greatest people. They come from anywhere and everywhere."

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This diversity translates directly to business advantage through "the breadth of thinking and experience that's in the building instead of having the same sort of life experience that all our people have. It's quite diverse, it's quite ranged, it's from all parts of the world and it's at different life stages as well."

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Entrepreneurial Wisdom for Uncertain Times

When asked what advice he would offer other entrepreneurs, Danu shared insights that connect directly to his immigration philosophy:

"Put your ego to one side. Being wrong is really, really important," he advised, emphasising how diverse perspectives help businesses avoid the traps of confirmation bias and groupthink.

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His encouragement to "dream big" connects with his vision for New Zealand's potential: "Especially in times like this with the development of AI and the rapid change we're seeing with technology as well as geopolitics with all this crisis comes a huge amount of opportunity."

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Most importantly, Danu challenges the notion that there are established formulas for success in today's rapidly changing world: "There's never been a playbook for any of this stuff before. So if anyone's telling you there's a particular way to do something, I would find that hard to believe."

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Looking Forward: Immigration as Strategic Advantage

As New Zealand navigates complex economic and technological transformations, Danu's insights offer a compelling case for immigration as a strategic advantage rather than a policy challenge. By reframing immigration through an economic lens, he provides a blueprint for how New Zealand might strengthen its position globally.

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For Rush, this perspective isn't theoretical—it's foundational to our success. Our diverse, international team embodies the very philosophy that Danu advocates for New Zealand as a whole: that welcoming the world's talent creates ripple effects of innovation, investment, and growth that benefit everyone.

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This interview was conducted by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities as part of their Ethnic Xchange symposium series. Watch the whole interview here.

To learn more about the Ethnic Xchange symposium and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities' work, visit their website.

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