A Rotorua cafe built around the revitalisation of te reo Māori is breaking new economic ground, becoming the first pakihi Māori to seek funding through a new kaupapa Māori peer-to-peer lending platform.
Rumaki Cafe is seeking $15,000 through Te Whare Manaaki, an initiative developed by IndigiShare to connect Māori businesses with whānau, hapū, iwi, trusts and organisations wanting to put their pūtea behind Māori enterprise.
IndigiShare chief executive Maria Ngawati says the milestone represents an opportunity to rethink how Māori businesses access capital and how Māori communities can directly support the growth of pakihi they believe in.
Unlike conventional crowdfunding, Te Whare Manaaki operates through a zero-interest repayable lending model.
Kaituku Pūtea pledge money towards a participating Māori business and, once its funding target is reached, the pūtea is provided as a loan.
When the business repays the money, those who provided it can withdraw their funds or choose to support another Māori enterprise.
The model means the same pool of capital could potentially move from one pakihi to another, creating a cycle of community-backed Māori investment.
Rumaki Cafe is the first business to test the approach.
The cafe has already secured $118,000 in investment and another $28,000 from donors as it develops its distinctive kaupapa in Rotorua.
Rumaki is designed as a fully immersive te reo Māori environment where customers can use and strengthen their reo while doing something as everyday as ordering coffee or kai.
The business demonstrates the potential for Māori enterprise to deliver cultural as well as economic outcomes, using commerce as another environment for language revitalisation.
Te Whare Manaaki is being piloted through the Financial Markets Authority Regulatory Sandbox, providing an opportunity for IndigiShare to test and refine the lending model within a controlled regulatory setting.
Access to finance remains a significant challenge for many Māori entrepreneurs, particularly smaller or emerging businesses that may struggle to secure conventional lending despite having strong ideas and community support.
Te Whare Manaaki is attempting to provide another pathway by combining kaupapa Māori, collective investment and recyclable capital.
For Ngawati and IndigiShare, Rumaki represents more than the first business seeking funding through a new platform.
It is a test of whether Māori communities can create new ways of putting Māori pūtea behind Māori aspirations — allowing one investment to potentially support generations of pakihi Māori.
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