The Pick 2025 finalists: Frank Manifold (left), Shane Stewart, winner Georgia Keys, Helen Horrocks, Jess and David Croft and Jodeci Jusharna, with facilitator Tania McInnes.
The Pick 2025 finalists: Frank Manifold (left), Shane Stewart, winner Georgia Keys, Helen Horrocks, Jess and David Croft and Jodeci Jusharna, with facilitator Tania McInnes.
Opinion by Piripi Moore
Piripi Moore is Head of Kaupapa Māori, Enterprise and Innovation, Northland Inc
Northland’s small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy and our communities.
They provide jobs, keep money circulating locally, and give life to our towns and districts.
Yet right now, they are under real pressure. In June this year, sales in the region fell 3.5% year-on-year,the steepest drop in New Zealand, with construction activity down 6.4% and hospitality sales shrinking for the fifth quarter in a row.
These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet.
They represent fewer shifts for staff, shortened opening hours and in some cases, closed doors.
While the headwinds are real, from rising costs and tighter household budgets to the ongoing effects of severe weather events, the entrepreneurial spirit in Te Tai Tokerau remains strong. We see it every year through The Pick, our regional business ideas accelerator programme.
Designed and delivered here in Northland, The Pick brings together aspiring entrepreneurs from every corner of the region.
Many arrive with nothing more than a seed of an idea and the courage to back themselves.
Over the course of the programme, they gain practical tools, mentorship and the confidence to turn those ideas into viable businesses.
What makes The Pick special is that it is a genuinely local effort. It is powered by Northland Inc in partnership with local sponsors and supporters who believe in the value of fostering homegrown talent. Past and present backers have included regional businesses, iwi entities and community organisations that contribute funding, expertise and time.
Their involvement means participants are not only learning from textbooks, but from people who have navigated the same challenges of building and sustaining a business in our unique environment.
It also creates a network that lasts well beyond the programme – one where alumni stay connected, collaborate and continue to help each other succeed.
This kind of grassroots investment in people is exactly what will keep Northland’s economy resilient.
Several of this year’s Pick participants have the potential to succeed not just in Northland, or Aotearoa, but on the world stage. Past product offerings include Vince, a plant-based mince now on supermarket shelves in over 160 stores.
However, it cannot sit in isolation. We need to back small businesses at every level, from the decisions we make as consumers to the priorities we set as a region.
Piripi Moore
Buying local, spending local and advocating for local enterprise should not be slogans dusted off during crises; they must be part of how we live and work every day.
When you choose the Northland cafe over the chain, the locally-owned builder over the out-of-town contractor, or the artisan making products in the Far North over an overseas retailer, you are making a deliberate choice to strengthen our economy.
Each transaction keeps money circulating here, supports jobs and sustains the community fabric that makes this place unique.
Our local businesses are showing up for us despite the toughest trading environment in over a decade.
They are sponsoring the kids’ sports teams, donating to school fundraisers and volunteering their time to community causes. They are investing in Northland, even when it is hard. Now it is our turn to invest in them.
To every business owner in Te Tai Tokerau – whether you are just starting out or have been serving customers for decades – know this: you are seen, you are valued, and you are essential to our region’s future.
The data tells us that without deliberate support, some will not make it through.
But it also tells us that with the right backing, we have the potential to grow far beyond our current share of the national economy. That is not a dream; it is a decision.
Now is the time to back our own. Not just as consumers, but as advocates and champions of the Northland we believe in.
