Buddy Mikaere is the organiser of a second national hui for Maori business networks. Photo / File
The second national hui for Maori business networks and enterprises aims to help more Maori move into the small and medium-sized enterprise niche, says event organiser Buddy Mikaere.
"We're aiming to fill the gap for Maori between the top and the bottom, where we believe there's a role for Maori business networks."
The two-day event in Tauranga later this month follows up on the first Te Hekenga in the city in 2012. Since then, there had been a continuation of the relatively strong Maori presence at the top end of business, particularly in property investment, with major iwi trusts such as Ngai Tahu, Tainui and Ngati Whatua, said Mr Mikaere.
And at the bottom end, Maori continued to provide the unskilled and semi-skilled workers in traditional primary industries such as farming, fishing and forestry, food processing and manufacturing and infrastructure construction.
"What we're trying to do is build capacity in the SME area, which is where most New Zealand business is done," said Mr Mikaere. Assisting more Maori to move into the small business niche where they could become self-reliant and self-sustaining business entities, was a sensible goal for the Maori Business Network and the various sub-networks grouped within it.
"The conference will feature a range of examples of what other guys have done, the issues they've run up against, and how they've overcome them," he said.
Anthony Olsen, a Bay of Connections trustee who sits on the Maori Economic Development Strategy advisory group, said the strategy group had recognised a high degree of entrepreneurial activity among Maori in the Bay of Plenty.
"What surprised us, to a certain extent, was that Maori were in fact well-represented within small and medium-sized business," he said. In supporting the hui, said Mr Olsen, the aim was to ask the SMEs and startups what issues they faced in developing their businesses, whether there were things the Maori Business Network could help with, and the potential employment opportunities in developing these businesses.
Organisers said the emergence of companies such as Aotearoa Fisheries and milk processor Miraka were among examples of Maori moving from a producer role to become processors/manufacturers and marketers.
Mr Mikaere was expecting to attract about 120 people to the hui and hoped to see it become a fixed item on the Tauranga events calendar, possibly on a three-year cycle basis.
Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby said that Maori economic activity in the Bay of Plenty was understated, but that key agencies were aware of its importance.
"Maori business is very significant in the region and the economy that relates to Maori-owned assets will continue to grow," he said.
Great Maori success story in Kaikoura
One successful example the Maori business conference will hear about is the economic impact of Whale Watch Kaikoura on its local community. Whale Watch Kaikoura's chief operating officer Kauahi Ngapora will address the conference on the second day.
In April this year, Kaikoura became New Zealand's 30th Regional Tourism Organisation, reflecting its success in attracting up to one million visitors a year to a variety of draw cards, with whale watching tours by the 100 per cent Maori-owned operator being the best known.
"Their whole town runs on the back of that operation," said conference organiser Buddy Mikaere.
Mr Ngapora, in comments to the event organisers, said the highlights of the company's success included making an ongoing and significant contribution to the economic and social fabric of the local community.
Around 80 per cent of the tour's clients are international visitors, many of whom described taking part in the tours and seeing whales in their natural environment as a life-changing experience, he said.
Whale Watch Kaikoura employs about 50 permanent staff and up to 75 during peak periods, and was now one of the town's biggest employers.
"Tourism is worth around $134 million annually to the economy of Kaikoura and its development into a multi-million dollar industry has been underpinned by the development of Whale Watch Kaikoura," said Mr Ngapora. "Nature is the key draw card for Kaikoura."
Mr Mikaere said that the Kaikoura example highlighted the kinds of things that could be done with Maori businesses. "There's a strong cultural element combined with a great natural world story."
Details
*What: National Maori Business Networks and Maori Enterprises Conference
*When: September 18-19
*Where: ASB Arena, Tauranga