Why Māori entrepreneurs and Matariki X are so important: Return of the Haututū!

We must elevate and celebrate our Māori entrepreneurs and innovators; we need them more than we realise

The Callaghan Innovation Inspire: Matariki X conference last Saturday in Rotorua was successful for many reasons.  The venue, programme and entire event was full to the brim with a great variety of talent with genuine stories on turning their business or social enterprise ideas into action.  The packed house of 300 plus matched the enthusiasm of the speakers; the positive energy in the crowd accentuated at times by the noticeable cohort of rangatahi (teenagers) in attendance. 

It is a rare sight indeed to see delighted fist pumps and positive shouts outs from the crowd, in a Māori business conference. So special mention to Robett Hollis for electrifying the crowd with raw energy and passion for “getting sh$t done”. 

To see future leaders present and visibly engaged in the business, entrepreneur, innovation space was a highlight in itself.  Hemi Rolleston, Shontelle Bishara and the wider Callaghan Māori Economy team rightfully deserve the many accolades, even just for getting that many of our young people along.

To the experienced business heads, most of the content and messages were familiar (courage, ingenuity, determination and passion) as was the constant dose of quick wit and good humour to the predominately Māori audience. Nevertheless, there was something special about this event that made it stand out from most of the dozens I have been fortunate to attend over the many years (note, my passion for Māori economic development means I’ve attended most if not all of the Māori business conferences during my career). The focus on entrepreneurs and innovation is a refreshing change to the predominately Māori collectives discourse. Rotorua also has always been a friendly environment for kaupapa Māori (indigenous causes), a city that seems to be experiencing a period of positive influx of educated and skilled Māori.  But perhaps the unseen glue or X factor underlying the success of the event, in addition to all the hard work and planning that was put into the conference, was timing.   

I had the honour (or misfortune) to provide the keynote speech at the annual Takiwai (Rotorua Māori Business Network) dinner that immediately followed the Matariki X conference (thanks for the opportunity Lara). Being a Star Wars fan, who knows the force is real (we Māori call it wairua or spirit :-) ); I was inspired by the Jedi like skills and experience of the various speakers during the day, so my presentation was entitled, “Return of the Haututū”.  Haututū in this sense referring to the mischievous characteristics of an entrepreneur, forever enshrined in Māori consciousness through the legendary exploits of Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga (who amongst other things fished up the North Island of New Zealand).  But using ‘the Return’ aspect, in terms of my belief that our people desperately need that creative, disruptive (haututū) trait to return to the fore of our developmental thinking and action.  My underlying point being, the continued dire situation that many of our people continue to face, requires us all to elevate our haututū so that they can be innovative, so as to be transformational, but to do so in an integrated manner.  And the timing for that is now.

Graphic sourced from Te Puni Kōkiri (www.tpk.govt.nz)

To support my contention that we need to focus on Māori entrepreneurs to foster much needed innovation, I referred to the composition of the much heralded $42 billion Māori economy using the graphic above. A disproportionate amount of focus, activity and pressure is placed on Māori collectives (Māori Trusts, incorporations and other).  Tribal, Māori land, and other kaupapa driven organisations are almost expected to solve all the challenges Māori face; including creating enterprise and employment for our people.  There are many great examples of such organisations doing a great job.  But our focus needs to evolve more broadly, more towards the Self-Employed and Employers (the larger part of our economy), within which many of our Māori entrepreneurs sit.  This is one reason why Matariki X is so important, because it has and will continue to re-balance our focus and thinking.

However, the real reason why this change in focus and Matariki X as part of that process is important is two-fold; our Māori entrepreneurs can:

1. Create much needed employment (faster than organisations), and
2. Drive much needed holistic change for our people.

My deep passion is Māori and indigenous economic development. I see it as a central plank towards more holistic development or tino rangatiratanga (self-determination): a ‘means to an ends’.  Sustainable jobs and employment opportunities are at the core of economic development for me (and I know it is for many).  The recent EY Global Job Creation Survey 2016 helps bring to life my first point.  In surveying the hiring intentions and recent hiring practices of nearly 2,700 entrepreneurs around the world, the survey finds that entrepreneurs continue to be a key driver of jobs and economies.  A relevant message from the survey is that entrepreneurs are creating jobs at more than twice the rate of established companies. Further, the survey shows that the more disruptive (haututū) entrepreneurs are (the more that they change the rules of their sector), the more likely they are to increase their workforce, grow faster and hire more young people than their less disruptive competitors.  My experience in the Māori sector suggests that these messages would hold true in the Māori context within Aotearoa New Zealand (and perhaps across the indigenous world).  If so, then more focus and activity needs to shift to identify, support and celebrate our Māori entrepreneurs.

Another message from the survey ties to my second point. Entrepreneurs drive innovation – often much more quickly than established competitors.  Successful entrepreneurs, by definition, challenge status quo and figure out a way to do things better.  The status quo for Māori (and many indigenous peoples across the world) is not so hot, to say the least.  Māori entrepreneurs can help drive job creation, which in of itself can create tremendous change – particularly for the individuals and whānau (families) concerned and their communities.  But they can also drive much needed innovation across other sectors and aspects of people’s lives.  Firstly, in what entrepreneurs can create themselves, for example, I wish Dr Lance O’Sullivan all the best in developing and scaling up technology to bring much needed health expertise into remote schools, communities and homes.  Secondly, in terms of the innovative discussion and thinking they can contribute to wider Māori and indigenous development (many of the speakers at Matariki X could and one day should run for Parliament!).  The key challenge here is in connecting the innovation and success from this sector, with other parts of our wider development eco-system (from education to employment to housing to health to social to cultural). 

The innovation that our haututū can bring to positively transform our lives needs to happen in an integrated manner to truly leverage the opportunity they present. 

To be clear, I’m not saying Māori development leadership, discourse or activity is broken or lacks innovation; there are a great number of innovative examples across the Māori world. However, our focus and mind-set, particularly in the Māori economic space, needs to shift and evolve by bringing our innovators more to the fore.  This is why Matariki X is so important: it signals the Return of the Haututū, to bring balance to the force!

Selwyn Hayes is the Managing Partner of Tahi , a global member firm of EY. Tahi’s purpose is to "Accelerate Māori success". Click here to learn more.