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A Māori social enterprise has handed out nearly $500,000 in scholarships to Māori students to take part in a 12-week ecommerce programme.
Te Whare Hukahuka is working with global online sales giant Shopify to run the online Ka Hao i te Ao bootcamp in ecommerce and digital marketing.
Chief executive Travis O’Keefe says more than half the 65 scholarships have gone to applicants in smaller towns and rural New Zealand, with winners aged from 18 to 61.
The application process included five video and social media tasks designed to test candidates’ commitment to succeeding in ecommerce.
Participants will collaborate in virtual teams around the country and in Australia, where five scholarships have been awarded.
Mr O’Keefe says most of the scholarship recipients are owner-operators or small businesses, and include artists, poets, fashion designers, content creators and photographers, as well as strong representation from iwi organisations and Māori development professionals.
By the end of the 12 weeks they should have learnt the skills to have opened a Shopify store and be making money from it.
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