A partnership to accelerate the growth and development of Māori and Pacific entrepreneurship across Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland has been formed, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to build entrepreneurial capability across the rohe and play an active role in supporting pakihi Māori and Pacific to thrive.
The partners, HTK Group and GridAKL,will explore opportunities to deliver work programmes for Māori and Pacific entrepreneurs, who are underrepresented in the business community in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The partnership is built around the shared mission to grow the number of successful Māori and Pacific businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Renata Hakiwai, Managing Director of HTK Group says the partnership with Auckland’s economic and cultural agency opens up an opportunity for more Māori and Pacific businesses to be present at the heart of the region’s innovation ecosystem, to scale up and get access to the country’s biggest economy and to connect with other start-ups and businesses across the region.
“As the country’s biggest regional economy, we see Tāmaki as a place that our pakihi Māori and Pasifika can use to springboard into the national and global economy.”
Nick Hill, Chief Executive of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited says that the partnership between GridAKL and HTK Group has significant meaning for the region’s strategy to grow the Māori economy and support businesses to scale up.
“At GridAKL and via its innovation network, we successfully run a number of programmes with Māori and Pacific entrepreneurs, and we always look to elevate these relationships. The partnership with HTK Group enables us to do so, and we look forward to working with Renata and the team.”
