Whai Rawa - Māori Economies

What is the potential for new governing structures to intervene in persisting social, cultural, political and economic inequalities that disproportionately accrue to Māori?

The multiple accountabilities of Māori leaders to whānau and community members, beneficiaries and external stakeholders make Māori governance challenges unique. Māori entities are collective, ancestry based and do not have easy exit mechanisms for owners and so Māori governance poses complex challenges.

What are the distinctive dimensions and drivers of innovative Māori leadership and integrated decision making, and how do these characteristics deliver pluralistic outcomes that advance transformative and prosperous Māori economies of wellbeing?

A diverse range of Māori leadership practices have contributed to the development of a Māori economy with a current estimated asset base of $42.6 billion, yet the role of mātauranga and tikanga Māori within leadership practices is poorly understood.

The overarching research question is: what constitutes entrepreneurial ecosystem efficacy with respect to indigenous entrepreneurs’ innovation intentions and activity? In order to investigate this overarching research question, the following questions will be explored: (i) how do Māori entrepreneurs think about innovation? (ii) How does enterprise assistance support Māori entrepreneurs’ to innovate? And (iii), what are the implications for enterprise assistance targeting Māori entrepreneurs?