A partnership with the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) to build entrepreneurship and business skills with rangatahi is being rolled out in Rotorua and Whakatane.
A series of five entrepreneurship workshops for Year 10 and 11 Maori students will be held under He kai kei aku ringa (HKKAR) - the Crown-Maori economic growth partnership.
The HKKAR Business Challenge is a unique three-day experiential learning programme that develops skills, understanding, and attitudes about how a successful business operates and helps connect rangatahi with their local business community.
"Two of the five goal areas of HKKAR are enterprise and rangatahi, so this is an awesome fit to excite rangatahi about a future in business and build their skills early," Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said.
"It's all about rangatahi determining their destiny and succeeding as Maori, and their journey to contribute to Aotearoa's strong and growing economy," he said.
As well as in Rotorua and Whakatane, the challenges will be held in Northland, Waikato, Manawatu, and Whanganui.
Teams will present business ideas to a panel of judges at the end of the each three-day workshop. The first workshop will be held in Rotorua from June 14-16.
For more information visit www.youngenterprise.org.nz.