{"id":230125,"date":"2026-01-12T18:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/230125\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T18:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:28:09","slug":"iwi-and-maori-businesses-drive-rapid-growth-across-new-sectors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/230125\/","title":{"rendered":"Iwi and M\u0101ori businesses drive rapid growth across new sectors"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe M\u0101ori economy is starting to play a major part in New Zealand\u2019s economy,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sitting pretty well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in my role for 15 years working with M\u0101ori businesses and [it\u2019s] been a really special time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of growth, the M\u0101ori economy has almost tripled in size to near $150b, contributing 9% to New Zealand\u2019s GDP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison said his role was multifaceted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a part-strategy role, so thinking about how we develop our approach to M\u0101ori business and then I guess it\u2019s part-customer role.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, I was down the line recently meeting with a large M\u0101ori farming joint venture that was looking for some access to finance to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

He enjoys meeting and supporting M\u0101ori businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough Covid we migrated to online, but it\u2019s nice now to be back out face to face more often.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause as M\u0101ori we like the face-to-face hui, so there\u2019s not a lot you can do by phone. People would rather sit down and have a cup of tea and talk to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to an AGM recently and that\u2019s a really special opportunity to go and, you know, not only meet with trustees, but also with owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s views are supported by a recent Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment <\/a>2023 (MBIE) report.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think about the different components of the M\u0101ori economy, we\u2019ve got M\u0101ori primary sector groups that are doing really well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u0101ori entrepreneurs are flourishing in sectors like tech and from our most recent Iwi Investment<\/a> insights report, we know that iwi are performing well too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to be they\u2019re evolving from traditional places where they go and invest.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Christopher Luxon, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden with officials and iwi representatives during the Otaki to north of Levin highway sod-turning ceremony in September. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n

Iwi leading the charge<\/p>\n

Harrison believes M\u0101ori will utilise one another\u2019s financial balance sheets to form big joint ventures and partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cCo-investments are M\u0101ori clubbing together to form bigger pots of money to chase larger investments and hopefully, better quality investments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Te Honga M\u0101ori report headlines the M\u0101ori economy is growing faster than the New Zealand economy, which is a good story.\u201d<\/p>\n

One iwi leading the charge is Waikato-Tainu<\/a>i.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it\u2019s about the infrastructure, which they want to be part of with global investors,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the first iwi to reach out and look at those opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cInfrastructure is a big employer and it also typically has social and environmental considerations and that aligns really well with M\u0101ori objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said M\u0101ori were also looking to invest in renewable energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about it, there\u2019s already been M\u0101ori ownership of geothermal assets and renewable energy,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus add logistics, sports, hotels, you know, housing and the like.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely appetite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a conference in Taranaki , the Maori National Energy Summit, and energy and infrastructure often go together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"M\u0101oriM\u0101ori are also looking to invest in renewable energy.<\/p>\n

Harrison said Waikato-Tainui\u2019s Brookfield investment was a prime example of long-term iwi thinking.<\/p>\n

Waikato-Tainui and Brookfield formed a joint venture in 2025 to develop the Ruakura Superhub, a multibillion-dollar logistics hub in Hamilton.<\/p>\n

The partnership \u2013 Tainui Group Holdings (the commercial arm of Waikato Tainui) and global investment firm Brookfield Asset Management \u2013 will have a $1b investment to develop the hub\u2019s logistics precinct, which is a major strategic asset for the iwi and the Waikato region.<\/p>\n

\"BrookfieldBrookfield co-head of Australia and New Zealand real estate Ruban Kaneshamoorthy (left), Te Arataura chairman Tukoroirangi Morgan and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Ruakura Superhub in Hamilton in April. Photo \/ Danielle Zollickhofer<\/p>\n

\u201cTainui\u2019s joint venture with Brookfield is a good example of that, but you know, there are plenty of other examples of M\u0101ori investment in that space,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe growth that we\u2019re seeing in the M\u0101ori economy just shows that it\u2019s a powerful contributor to the New Zealand economy and a big part of our future growth story.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking forward, I see a vibrant M\u0101ori economy investing across multiple sectors and it\u2019s going to be a good thing for the overall Aotearoa New Zealand economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting Harrison\u2019s view is the BDO P\u016brongo Pakihi M\u0101ori report, which shows M\u0101ori business leaders hold a more positive outlook than those operating within most New Zealand sectors.<\/p>\n

\"BDOBDO national M\u0101ori business sector leader Solomon Dalton: “We\u2019re seeing cautious optimism about the future.”<\/p>\n

The 2025 study, entitled Expanding Horizons, is based on a nationwide survey \u2013 the largest of its kind \u2013 and features responses from more than 290 M\u0101ori business leaders during September and October 2025.<\/p>\n

The report highlights 64% of M\u0101ori business leaders are positive about their overall business performance, second only to business leaders in the agriculture sector on 74%. This result contrasts strongly with the 2024 report, in which 48% of M\u0101ori business leaders were feeling positive \u2013 the lowest score since first measured. <\/p>\n

Looking ahead, 71% of M\u0101ori business leaders expect to be positive about their overall business performance in six months\u2019 time, also higher than the sentiment shown by business leaders operating in most sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cManaging cash flow remains a key priority for M\u0101ori business leaders; however, we\u2019re seeing cautious optimism about the future. What will be key over the next six months is more certainty around economic conditions in helping unlock potential business growth by encouraging more M\u0101ori business leaders to invest in their people and resources \u2013 helping stimulate the wider economy,\u201c BDO national M\u0101ori business sector leader Solomon Dalton said.<\/p>\n

Joseph Los\u2019e joined NZME in 2022 as kaupapa M\u0101ori editor. Los\u2019e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before joining NZME, worked for urban M\u0101ori organisation Wh\u0101nau Waipareira.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe M\u0101ori economy is starting to play a major part in New Zealand\u2019s economy,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cIt\u2019s sitting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2840,95,60780,10166,8615,803,6284,137031,4480,219,3273,3499,20916,106,330,50521,13457,22387,2720,117,111,43,139,69,1435,479,312,8610,165,18242,1141,1533,1530],"class_list":["post-230125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-across","tag-and","tag-builds","tag-businesses","tag-come","tag-continue","tag-david","tag-diversify","tag-drive","tag-economy","tag-future","tag-growth","tag-harrison","tag-head","tag-investments","tag-iwi","tag-look","tag-momentum","tag-mori","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rapid","tag-relationships","tag-says","tag-sectors","tag-their","tag-trajectory","tag-upward","tag-will","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}