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Feature

The Māori economic boom honours ancestors, says expert

13 December 2022
The Māori economy, estimated to be worth $70 billion, is going from strength to strength in a range of sectors.

It's also likely to keep growing faster than the rest of the Aotearoa New Zealand economy.

That’s the assessment of Associate Professor, a respected expert from the Department of Management and International Business at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, director of  and the .

 Māori business success today is remarkable for two main reasons, says Wolfgramm, who is of Te Aupōuri, Ngai Takoto, Whakatōhea, Tongan and Irish descent. 

One reason is the decimation of the Indigenous economy because of colonisation and the subsequent marginalisation of and systemic racism against Māori.

“The time, effort and energy required to build back what once was this country’s thriving pre-European economy is a story of astonishing resilience,” says Wolfgramm. 

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Rachel Wolfgramm

“Our tūpuna would be proud of what we are achieving in the face of such adversity.”

The other reason is that Māori businesses and organisations tend not to be solely focused on making money. Increasingly, more holistic, long-term views are being recognised as a strength in business, particularly in the context of sustainability issues, says Wolfgramm.

“Māori organisations place high value on collective aspirations, including culturally rewarding activities such as enhancing skills in te reo Māori and Māori cultural practices, lifting the socioeconomic status of all Māori, and putting kaitiakitanga at the forefront.”

“The time, effort and energy required to build back what once was this country’s thriving pre-European economy is a story of astonishing resilience. Our tūpuna would be proud of what we are achieving in the face of such adversity.”
Associate Professor Rachel Wolfgramm
“Māori organisations place high value on collective aspirations, including culturally rewarding activities such as enhancing skills in te reo Māori and Māori cultural practices, lifting the socioeconomic status of all Māori, and putting kaitiakitanga at the forefront.”

Associate Professor Rachel Wolfgramm

A short history of the Māori economy

According to Te Ara, the government-sponsored online encyclopedia of New Zealand, Māori quickly developed commercial relations with tauiwi when they arrived.

“By the 1850s there were Māori commercial enterprises, often with their own boats for transporting produce to urban markets. They were less successful from the 1860s,” notes Te Ara.

“The colonial government, as agents of the British Crown, came up with spurious reasons to send in cavalry to forcibly take lands and resources away from Māori hapū and iwi – situations in which our tūpuna suffered majorly and which we are still trying to recover from,” says Wolfgramm.

Wolfgramm was involved in preparing a Waitangi Tribunal claim, Wai 1920 – Rourou: Reclaiming the Māori Economy – in fact, she’s the lead claimant. The claim, which was initially spearheaded by a group including the late Associate Professor Manuka Henare, will enable comprehensive research into “everything Māori lost through colonisation in terms of land and resources,” says Wolfgramm.

“Research has shown the majority of our lands were taken. Māori were pushed into an ongoing socioeconomic crisis.”

Associate Professor Rachel Wolfgramm

“Manuka found evidence that the settlements Māori tribes have been asked to accept were worth approximately one to two percent of what was lost. That’s a massive gap. Research has shown the majority of our lands were taken. Māori were pushed into an ongoing socioeconomic crisis.”

The group working on the claim is seeking funding to advance research relating to the claim and Wolfgramm hopes to see it actively moving forward next year.

“The claim is about getting a more equitable settlement for all Māori,” says Wolfgramm. “Our tūpuna and our tohunga gave us this job to do. If we are successful, the results will provide a significant boost to the Māori economy and will see positive ripple effects for all of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

The Māori economy today

Despite the damage wrought by colonisation and the lack of equitable settlements, the Māori economy is doing well, says Wolfgramm.

The Māori economy consists of businesses and entities that self-define as Māori because Māori are leaders in the organisation. It doesn’t necessarily mean the businesses are run exclusively by Māori or that they’re aimed just at Māori customers. There are Māori businesses in every sector of the economy, from agriculture to leading-edge technology, including significant Māori entities in the global economy.

Māori businesses tend to enact values such as kaitiakikanga, whanaungatanga and manaakitanga, meaning they emphasise proactive guardianship of land and resources, the building of lasting relationships, and caring for families and communities.

This is particularly true of iwi-run businesses, which are accountable to the whole tribe. Iwi organisations are some of the biggest in Aotearoa, controlling significant land and assets – , mostly in the primary sector, says Wolfgramm.

One of the reasons for Wolfgramm’s optimism for the Māori economy is demographics. In 2018, , compared to only 37 percent of the non-Māori population.

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Treaty settlements are helping to revitalise the Māori economy, and Māori iwi, hapū, marae and businesses are working hard to ensure benefits are shared, says Wolfgramm.

“We have some highly successful iwi that are multi-billion-dollar corporations with diversified portfolios in areas that have been growing.”

“We have some highly successful iwi that are multi-billion-dollar corporations with diversified portfolios in areas that have been growing.”

Associate Professor Rachel Wolfgramm

“Indigenous peoples have historically given away their taonga because they’ve been told, ‘If you share this, you’re going to make everyone in the world well.’ Often they’ve ended up with little recognition whilst significant profits have been made by companies exploiting Indigenous knowledge and taonga.”

Associate Professor Rachel Wolfgramm

Embracing kaupapa Māori and mātauranga Māori

Another reason for Wolfgramm’s optimism is the rising interest in the Māori economy and Māori ways of doing business – particularly related to sustainable and social enterprise.

For example, Pōtiki Poi, the world’s largest poi manufacturer, uses recycled materials and has a 16-year-old CEO, Georgia Latu. It has won multiple awards.

Designing products and processes in a circular way can align with mātauranga Māori, says Wolfgramm.That knowledge and kaupapa, based on centuries of observing nature and its systems, could be of great value to businesses in a range of sectors today.

However, non-Māori businesses commodifying tikanga Māori, te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori or taonga plant and animal species is problematic, says Wolfgramm. 

“Indigenous peoples have historically given away their taonga because they’ve been told, ‘If you share this, you’re going to make everyone in the world well.’ Often they’ve ended up with little recognition whilst significant profits have been made by companies exploiting Indigenous knowledge and taonga,” says Wolfgramm. “We need to retain our sovereignty and intellectual property rights, including any IP that comes out of our native species in line with .”&Բ;

Further nurturing the Māori economy

Māori are still held back in business in some ways, says Wolfgramm. The main one is access to capital. Though there are Māori who invest in Māori businesses, this is an area she’d like to see grow. 

“We should have a Māori Dragons’ Den – or Taniwha’s Den,” she says. “There are many exemplars in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally of how much angel investment can help new ventures.”

A comprehensive mentoring programme pairing promising Māori entrepreneurs with established ones would also help, says Wolfgramm. There are already Māori business networks connecting people but mentoring and advice could be more formalised and international connectivity improved, she adds.

Wolfgramm would like to see rangatahi Māori learn more about entrepreneurship and encouraged to start their own ventures. 

She would also like to see more spotlighting of exemplars of non-Māori successfully partnering with Māori – people like Associate Professor Saeid Baroutian, who is working with fellow Waipapa Taumata Rau researcher Dr Kiri Dell (Ngāti Porou) to set up a business creating products from kānuka trees, including liquid smoke and a nutritive leaf extract.

“If you want to work with Māori, you have to go in with your whole heart,” says Wolfgramm. “It’s a lot of work over the long haul. But the rewards are worthwhile. In the area Kiri and Saeid are working in, demand for wellness products is booming. And it’s not just about making money. There are amazing collaborators who work with Māori because they have the same mindset about taking an intergenerational approach and leaving a positive legacy. We all want to honour the aspirations of our tūpuna and be good ancestors ourselves.”

Learn how we partner with Māori