November 07, 2018
Pūtea smoothes development pathway
Members of Bay of Plenty Māori businesses and land trusts have gathered in Tauranga today to learn how they can access government funds to advance their activities.
Hinemaua Rikirangi, the director of the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment's Māori economic development executive, says MBIE, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for Primary Industries and other agencies all have pūtea to draw on.
These can range from programmes such as the Te Punaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund which allows organisations to do research that can improve farming or business practices, to a fund allowing enterprises to pay for commercial advice.
"The whole kaupapa is about helping our people to understand what is available to them depending on what their kaupapa is and what part of development they are at. It's more about the pathway of development and understanding if you were in a particular place, how the different funds might apply and when," Ms Rikirangi says.
As well as hearing from funders, businesses which have accessed the funds in past rounds will share what they learned.
Other Regional Māori Business Meetings will be held next week in Gisborne,Hastings and Nelson.
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