NAB today announced that it has entered into a new, long-term strategic partnership to provide up to 300 business customers with a partial-scholarship to the Australian Owner-Manager Program (AOMP).

Now in its seventh year, the AOMP has delivered practical, effective education and business acceleration options to over 900 owners of mid-sized Australasian businesses (turnover of $3m-$100m).   The partnership follows a successful pilot scheme undertaken in 2018 which saw NAB support a dozen business owners to complete the Program.

The announcement comes alongside today’s launch of a new whitepaper – ‘Backing Business – Australia’s Growth Engine’ – which examines the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) ecosystem in Israel and how that country’s success in the sector could be replicated in Australia.

NAB Chief Customer Officer, Business and Private, Anthony Healy said that the partnership would help provide business owners and managers with the critical skills to build their business.

“At NAB, we’re always looking for ways that we can support our SME customers and we’re delighted that we’re now able to provide this opportunity to them,” Mr Healy said.

“We know that a similar program in New Zealand has produced enormous benefit for SMEs in New Zealand and NAB customers who have participated in the pilot Australian program have found the course invaluable.”

Executive Director, Australian Owner Manager, Rob Douglas, welcomed NAB’s commitment.

“This partnership is a wonderful endorsement of the program and our objective to provide practical, focused, immersive education for business owners,” Mr Douglas said.

“I am thrilled that with NAB’s support, we will be able to extend our reach in the Australian market and allow more business owners the opportunity to benefit from the Program.”

Data indicates that on average, New Zealand’s Owner Manager Program alumni grew their businesses at 3x the rate of their peers, with FTE also growing on average by 7%. Since inception, businesses that have completed the course in NZ have added an estimated $15b in new revenues and 15,200 jobs to the NZ economy.

The AOMP aims at improving the leadership effectiveness of business owners and entrepreneurs noting that an improvement across the medium business market alone could boost the Australian economy by an additional $70bn per annum.

Read NAB’s full white paper – https://business.nab.com.au/innovation-lessons-from-israel-35822/