Ao Pāpāho
IndigiShare in the media
Growing the “koha-driven economy” for Māori business
IndigiShare, the non-profit dedicated to revitalising the Māori economy, has distributed its first pilot loan as part of an innovative koha-loan model to support Māori-owned businesses. Te Whare Manaaki aims to break down barriers to entry for Māori businesses by pairing its community of ‘Koha Lenders’ with Māori-owned enterprises seeking capital investment, fostering a supportive ‘koha-driven economy’ for Māori entrepreneurs to thrive.
Former beneficiaries come to the aid of small businesses as Digital Doers
Graduates from the Digital Doers Academy have gone from job seekers on benefit to paid digital interns, and now want to provide emergency digital support for small businesses struggling with the effects of the current Covid-19 outbreak. Delivered by small business support community Manaaki.io and funded by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Digital Doers took solo-parent Wilfred Kiki Te Wao (Waikato-Tainui) from a job seeker receiving a benefit to a skilled digital intern in 20 weeks. So far, he has worked on projects for Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, River Adventures Waikato, Akomaiway and IndigiShare. Now Whatawhata local Te Wao is among a group [...]
Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Awards 2023 finalists announced
Finalists for the 2023 Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Awards have been revealed. A total of 62 finalists have been chosen from more than 100 entries for this year’s awards, which celebrate the accomplishments and resilience of the city’s business community. Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the number and calibre of entries. “We thought last year’s entries were awesome at 85 but this year our entrants have blown us away with a staggering 111 entries.
Bike tech brake sensor and app to seek investment
Potential investors have plenty of options to choose from at the Rotorua Pitch Night on 28 July. Six businesses are lined up to pitch, from a range of industries, including bike tech, tourism, gin and vodka distilling, ag tech and peer lending platforms. Matt Miller is pitching his company BrakeAce. He has developed the worlds first brake sensor and app to help mountain bikers improve their speed. “Currently there are more than twenty companies that offer data products such as Strava and Garmin, but no company offers a tool to help riders improve the way they ride. BrakeAce changes that.” “I really struggled [...]
Business digest: Record 20,000 apprentices in building trades training
Building and construction industry training organisation BCITO has announced it has a record of 20,000 apprentices in training. BCITO manages apprenticeships for the building and construction industry in New Zealand, including the Bay of Plenty.
Businesses seek investment at Rotorua Pitch Night
Potential investors have plenty of options to choose from at the Rotorua Pitch Night on 28 July. Six businesses are lined up to pitch, from a range of industries, including bike tech, tourism, gin and vodka distilling, Ag tech and peer lending platforms. The Rotorua Pitch Night event has the aim to introduce investment-ready businesses to prospective investors and be the start of an active local investor community in Rotorua. The event is being run by Firestation, Rotorua X and Rotorua Economic Development Limited.
Local Focus: Small loans can make a big difference for Māori business
A groundbreaking initiative is aimed at revitalising the Māori economy through the power of koha. Indigishare was developed during lockdown to help Māori businesses by developing a more sustainable economic model. It includes a crowdfunding platform where Māori put out a karanga to other Māori businesses for support. Chair Maria Ngawati said part of that is setting up a mechanism or a platform whereby whānau can koha to other Māori. "We're primarily focusing on business at the moment. You can be a start-up, entrepreneur, you can have an existing business, so we're here to help you start-up, build and to thrive."
