Oyster & Moon: A Digital Enabler for Māori & Pacific SMEs

Digital Enablement for SMEs has been a hot topic, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the need to increase access to more diverse markets in the current economic climate. The pandemic led to accelerated funding for SMEs to transform their operations not just through adopting digital hardware and software, but also by implementing process changes, acquiring new skills and capabilities, and gaining deeper business insights through data analytics. As SME business advisors, we've observed many businesses capitalising on these opportunities, building websites, mastering digital marketing, and supporting comprehensive digital transformations.?

To bolster digital enablement, we examined how we could most effectively and efficiently support the SMEs we work with. Our solution: a collective retail experience that also provided ongoing opportunities to collaborate, learn and grow. In its simplest form, it's a custom e-commerce marketplace development. However, to be a successful enabler of economic empowerment for the Māori and Pacific SMEs we work with it needs to be more than just that. Instead, it’s a component of a broader eco-system with bespoke features that really hone our collective USP alongside some ambitious development goals. Our aim is to create a regenerative eco-system that will continue to support SMEs long into the future.?

Rather than making provision for a one-off, boxed fix, we approached digital enablement as a long-term, systemic solution. Our model focuses on a one-to-many approach within a relational and collective eco-system, which significantly ensures the preservation of?human connection alongside the digital solution in the form of a marketplace and community hub.?

Just over a year ago, we launched Oyster & Moon in its beta form, testing both our digital functionality and the capability of small businesses to utilize the platform. We've continually learned, improved, and developed both our human resource support system and our digital design.?

Our ambitious goal is for Oyster & Moon to serve as an elevated platform showcasing the best of our authentic Māori and Pacific cultural / creative storytellers. It’s a space where passionate creatives can jumpstart their careers, gain improved access to interested markets, collectively share our unique stories with the world, and come together to collaborate learn and grow. Together, we aim to navigate international waters, empowered by mastery of the digital environment without sacrificing our cultures or collective approach.?

?We believe in a future where digital enablement supports and elevates our creative communities. Our door is always open—literally, this week, as we continue our pop-up at Britomart. A place where we'd like to invite you to experience the critical human side of our digital enablement solution for Māori and Pacific entrepreneurs. ?

Oyster & Moon is more than just a marketplace; it's a purpose and community-driven initiative that leverages digital tools to foster growth, creativity, cultural exchange and learning now and into the future. We are excited about the journey ahead and look forward to sharing this path with our incredible network of SMEs and supporters. Let's build a future where digital enablement and human connection operate hand in hand. ?