A six-week business development programme designed to support Māori enterprise launched in Rotorua this week, welcoming 16 aspiring entrepreneurs into its inaugural cohort. Te Aka Matua offers a kaupapa-Māori-led business programme where participants will develop their entrepreneurial ideas through group wānanga and one-on-one mentoring, transforming their business visions into reality. The programme is led by IndigiShare Charitable Trust - a mātauranga Māori led and mana motuhake-driven social enterprise - with support from the Booster Foundation, an IndigiShare statement said.
The inaugural cohort spans various industries and includes founders from all stages of life and professional experience, it said. In the statement, designer and founder of indigenous clothing label Hunaarn Huriana Mohi (Ngāti Rangiwewehi) said this opportunity would provide “invaluable” mentorship, resources, and connections that aligned with her mission to revitalise indigenous art forms through fashion..
