Māori business in Manawatū

Māori business networks have been part of the business community in regional New Zealand since at least the mid-1990s.[1] Te Awe in Wellington, Maunga Tu Maunga Ora in Taranaki and others were pioneers of this new form of socialisation of Māori small business owners. The seeds for their emergence were laid at Hui Taumata in 1984, a seminal event in the history of Māori economic development.[2]

Out of Hui Taumata came a raft of initiatives to promote Māori enterprise development, including a Māori bank called the Māori Development Corporation (MDC), a Māori business development trust (Poutama Trust), and a Māori women’s small business loans agency (the Māori Women’s Development Fund), among others.[3] Alongside such initiatives, Māori business networks provided places in which the combination of Māori identity and Māori commercial endeavour were celebrated and supported.

I was fortunate to be involved in the early days of the regional Māori business networks, and with Te Awe in Wellington in particular from about 1996 to 2002 as a member and briefly as one of its trustees. Network meetings were hosted at the Capital Development Agency (CDA) staff room of the Wellington City Council. In the CDA, Te Awe had one of its staunchest members in the irrepressible Felicity Bollen.

Some of the other leading proponents of Te Awe at the time were Pania Tyson-Nathan, Hirini Reedy, Mahanga Maru, Toko Kapea, and Tui Te Hau. Richard Jones of Poutama and Arama Kukutai of Trade NZ were also key allies of Te Awe and the Māori business networks generally, with Richard in particular instrumental in early efforts to establish a national Māori business network – Te Aka Umanga.

We had a range of speakers and events, Hon Tau Henare, minister of Māori affairs, among them. As one of his speech writers on the topic of Māori business, it was good to hear which of my words made the final cut, and which didn’t. Great to see Te Awe and other networks are still around and growing. Check out the list of current regional Māori business networks by clicking here.

Now back to the Te Au Pakihi project. This came about as suggestion from one of Te Au Pakihi stakeholders who said if we wanted to be a voice for Māori entrepreneurs and Māori small business owners in the region, we need to know what they’re thinking, what their business needs are and how best to serve these needs? We also needed to figure out how to make the network sustainable – a common problem across all networks, Māori and Pākehā. Like any research, it has its limitations. We spoke to about 18 people and present the findings on that basis. More indepth and broader coverage is necessary, but like all things, research costs these days.

The report is a snapshot of Māori entrepreneurship in the Manawatū and how they engage with available enterprise assistance. Within the report are some ideas on how to improve this assistance so it works for Māori entrepreneurs, as well as ideas for a sustainable Māori business network. Still lots to do, but it’s a good start. Thanks to all who contributed to the research. All feedback and comments on the research are welcome.

Click here for a copy of the report.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Lisa Chase for her excellent work in conducting the interviews and Rita MacDonald for conducting initial research for the environmental scan. We also thank Te Au Pakihi members Lea-Ann de Maxton and Graeme Everton for their advice and direction on the project. We extend our thanks to all participants, Māori entrepreneurs, providers of enterprise assistance and policy makers for generously giving of their time and knowledge. We thank Te Puni Kōkiri and in particular Senior Advisor Bernie Savage of the Palmerston North office for his patient determination to see the scan done.

Notes

[1] Mariu, S., Tahana, N., & Hawkins, G. (1997). Indigenous business networks: the case of Te Aka Umanga - the National Maori Business Network. Paper presented at the 1st International Indigenous Conference on Business and Economic Development, Cairns, Australia.

[2] Durie, M. H. (2002). The business ethic and Māori development. Paper presented at the Maunga Tu Maunga Ora Economic Summit 21-22 March 2002, Hawera Community Centre, Hawera, New Zealand.

[3] Waitangi Tribunal. (1993). Wai 350 Maori Development Corporation report (Vol. WAI 350). Wellington, New Zealand: Author.r.