Willie Jackson praises Māori wāhine businesses who are helping grow the New Zealand economy

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Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson says the investment in wāhine Māori businesses is delivering big dividends for the New Zealand economy.

Last night at the Manaaki Studios, Auckland, Jackson released Te Matapaeroa 2020. The report outlined huge growth in wāhine Māori business and wāhine Māori leadership roles.

“One of the most exciting findings of this report is the leadership roles that Māori women are playing and it’s a statement of our culture in many ways,” Jackson told the Herald.

“Māori women have always played a strong and pivotal role in our whānau but we are seeing more taking on leadership roles, and that’s a good thing.”

The report showed that on average, Māori are 43 per cent of the workforce of Māori wāhine-owned businesses. Māori represented 38 per cent of the workforce of Māori-owned businesses without wāhine Māori and 14 per cent of the workforce of non-Māori owned businesses.

The report also identified 23,300 economically significant Māori-owned businesses (8.8 per cent of all businesses in New Zealand) for the year ending March 2020 and found 38,200 Māori sole traders (Māori individuals earning self-employment income, 14.7 per cent of all sole traders).

Jackson said the numbers don’t lie.

“In this instance it is right to highlight just what an important role Māori women are playing,” he said.

“Plus look at the leadership roles Māori women are taking on in iwi and corporates.

“There is a move on by wāhine Māori and it’s wonderful to see as a Māori Minister.

“I’m pleased to see the funding and resource is going to the right places because that is always a challenge for governments.

“The night was about celebrating, supporting and see where we go next,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the uplift in wāhine Māori business numbers could not have been achieved without the advocacy from, above from left, Kahurangi Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi, Lady Tureiti Moxon, Kahurangi Areta Koopu, Tā Mason Durie, Kahurangi Tariana Turia, Kahurangi Naida Glavish, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait – the magnificent Māori seven, and many more who had gone before.

This group confronted Prime Minister Jacinda Adern over Oranga Tamariki conduct and treatment of Māori, which ultimately forced major changes to the department.

“Thanks to our dames and knights, we have a number of wāhine Māori moving into big leadership roles.”

Wāhine Māori in business will be celebrated for their resilience and service to their communities at this year’s Māori Businesswomen Awards.

Sixteen wāhine will be recognised at the awards ceremony at the Aotea Centre on July 29.

Awards organiser Aroha Te Kanawa said the event promotes Māori women’s aptitude in business.