Waikato Business News July/August 2019

6 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2019
The Māori economy in Waikato:
What is it, and why does it matter?
Guest column by KIM HILL
Business strategist and Te Waka board director
When we talk about “the Māori economy”,
we’re generally referring to a collection
of aspects that make up the broader
contribution of Māori to economic
development - both regionally in Waikato
and in the rest of New Zealand.
At its core, the Māori
economy is made up
of a range of authorities,
businesses and employers
who identify as Māori.
Economic development from
a Māori perspective is diverse
and collaborative, encompassing
contributions from iwi,
Māori businesses, whanau
enterprises, entrepreneurs and
individuals.
In New Zealand, Māori own
a range of significant assets
across the primary sectors
(fishing, forestry, meat production,
and dairy), and there
is growing investment in geothermal,
digital, services, education,
tourism and housing.
Here in Waikato, the Māori
economy is very much alive
and well. The most recent figures
indicate that Māori businesses
contribute $1.4 billion
to the GDP of the Waikato
region (8 percent of total
GDP), and with steady growth
we can expect that figure to be
higher when the next round of
figures is released.
The key areas where the
Waikato region’s Māori economy
is strongest are in health
and community services, property
and business services,
manufacturing and agriculture.
Additionally, based on our
research into emerging industries
we know opportunity for
Māori business lies in key sectors,
such as cultural tourism
and education.
However, it’s important to
not view Māori contribution
to these larger industries as
the sole marker of economic
success, as Māori SMEs and
entrepreneurs also play a big
role in developing and growing
the Māori economy.
In measuring economic
development, it’s important
to look at other indicators of
success than simply relying on
GDP and other financial markers,
simply because they don’t
paint a whole picture of wellbeing.
This rings particularly
true for the Māori economy.
Benefits from the Māori
economy should be viewed
holistically. Alongside financial
indicators, we also take
into account the four dimensions
of Hauora (health and
wellbeing): Taha Tinana (physical
wellbeing), Taha Hinengaro
(mental and emotional
wellbeing), Taha Whanau
(social wellbeing), and Taha
Wairua (spiritual wellbeing).
In the work I do with Te
Humeka (Waikato Māori
Business Network) and Stratigi
within the Māori sector, I
constantly see opportunity for
our Māori economy to grow
into a strong ecosystem. With
support, resources and funding,
Māori business will thrive
and grow, with Hauora at the
forefront of decision making
to ensure we see not only economic
but social impacts as
well.
The desire for more support
was most evident at a recent
MBIE event I facilitated at Te
Wānanga o Aotearoa where
more than 100 people with
economic development interests
came along to learn about
the resources and opportunities
available to them from
the Government. Government
support aims to grow Māori
SMEs, support Māori youth,
maximise the value of iwi and
collectives, and develop our
regions.
As a regional economic
development agency, Te Waka
is tasked with working alongside
other relevant agencies
to ensure this support is readily
available to help grow our
regional Māori economy, and
create the right environment
Kia ora
We have an invitation
and a new feature
this month.
The invitation is to join our
coverage of the upcoming local
body elections. We want to provide
a forum for debate around
the most important democratic
decision you will make this
year.
You can do this either as a
candidate or as a voter. If you
are a voter we want to hear
what you want from your next
council and if you are a candidate
you have an opportunity
to reach out to the greater
Waikato business community.
The details of how to do this are
for collaboration to occur –
collaboration that is crucial for
the Māori economy to prosper.
Now, more than ever, is
the time for Māori business
to be supported properly so
they can thrive. That’s why Te
Waka’s priorities are aligned
to economic actions in the
Māori Economic Development
Action Plan, for example, supporting:
• Major Māori economic
development projects
across the Waikato region
to gain funding and support
• Development of a Waikato
regional Māori business
hub to support Māori business
capability, capacity
and success
• Iwi to implement a social
procurement programme to
enable opportunities to be
part of the growing Waikato
economy
• Māori tourism initiatives
Kim Hill is an independent
business strategist specialising
in working with Māori enterprise
with a focus on encouraging
and promoting Māori
economic participation and
growth. Kim is a director on
the board of Te Waka, Waikato’s
regional economic development
agency.
From the editor
on page 3.
And the new feature is all
about bringing you more. Think
of it as your business briefing
- it’s a new way of packaging
the news from around the
Kim Hill
region and giving it to you in
easy-to-read bite-sized pieces.
The snippets run as columns on
the side of the page, and have
been designed to be easily distinguishable
from our usual stories.
We’re pretty pleased with
this first up offering - it means
we are able to give you a whole
bunch more relevant news and
information about things that
are happening around Waikato.
If you have a business item to
add in future, feel free to email
it to me for possible inclusion.
It really is a case of the more the
merrier.
My email is richard@wbn.
co.nz
Ngā mihi
Richard Walker
Editor
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