7 APRIL 2009 - The Entrepreneurial Summit team have been flooded with ideas to recreate New Zealand's future and are now opening up submissions to "the man on the street".

New Zealand was built on the bedrock of great ideas says Entrepreneurial Summit coordinator, Just Water International CEO Tony Falkenstein. And now the Summit team wants Kiwis everywhere to bring their water-cooler conversations to the table.

"Kiwi men and women of all ages and cultures have an inbuilt pioneering spirit," says Falkenstein. "Now's the time to do something with that one great idea you've been chewing over these past few months.

"We've been overwhelmed by submissions from initial invitees and now want to involve all of New Zealand. If you're a budding entrepreneur with a great idea for the country's future, we want to hear it."

The Entrepreneurial Summit is being held at the AUT Business School in Auckland City and is being sponsored by ANZ, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the AUT Venture Fund.

Falkenstein says the Summit team is seeking 100 ideas that are big, bold and could be implemented throughout New Zealand.

The best ten to 20 ideas will be selected and refined by the top 100 entrepreneurs who attend the Summit and will be presented to Prime Minister John Key.

"We're looking for ideas that could be picked up by local or central government, or community groups up and down the country," says Falkenstein. "We want ambitious ideas that could positively impact every Kiwi."

The Entrepreneurial Summit team have received ideas from ex-pats living in Dubai, the US and the UK, but not every idea will make the cut.

"We've been overwhelmed by submissions from some of New Zealand's most successful entrepreneurs and have extended the deadline for 300-word expressions of interest until 4pm, April 14," he adds.

"This will be shortlisted to the final 100 people who will be invited to attend on Friday, April 24."

The top 100 summit participants' names will be posted on the website www.entrepreneurialsummit.co.nz once the final group is selected.