Strong growth for Māori tech firms, but skills barriers remain
Recession may have bitten in the last year, but its been a period of solid growth for Māori-owned technology businesses with the top 12 in the sector increasing revenue by a third in the last year.
The second annual Toi Hangarau report reveals that there are now 85 Māori-owned and/or led tech companies in New Zealand, up from 73 in 2023. They collectively employ 1,300 full-time equivalent staff and contractors and primarily operate locally, with 24% engaged in international markets and 7% global companies with a physical presence in at least one other country.
This year’s report identified a modest trend towards global markets overall (35%), with a heavier weighting in overseas markets among the 12 highest-earning enterprises, the heavyweights, at 42%.
“While the number of Māori technology businesses is growing, we want them to grow faster,” notes Robyn Kamira, founder of Paua Interface and the Toi Hangarau report, which has the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as its key sponsor.
One area the report identifies as a barrier to accelerating growth in Māori tech companies is the difficulties experienced in developing Māori tech workforces. Those surveyed as part of the report suggested that the usual problems identified - low Māori participation in STEM education programmes, recruitment bias, and a lack of role models, still need to be addressed.
Source: Toi Hangarau
In-house training favoured
But company founders see a key role for themselves in developing their workforces to increase Māori participation - above and beyond what educational programmes offer.
“By focusing on fields like AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and others where there is evidenced demand for jobs, Māori can be better prepared for high-demand and high-value roles. This will also help mitigate the risk of job obsolescence,” the report points out.
“Once they have achieved a foundation in a specific technology, they will be well-positioned to evolve to new tech skills over time. Soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, and emotional intelligence are also encouraged to complement technical expertise.”
When it comes to the STEM programmes that do exist, Toi Hangarau’s feedback from survey respondents suggests that the programmes are “funders do not necessarily understand the tech sector well enough to position programmes for success”.
“Programmes are ad hoc and small-scale, and funding is not continuous. This makes it difficult to evolve programmes incrementally for better outcomes,” the report adds.
The AI imperative
When it comes to generative AI, the report reveals that founders are keeping a “watching brief” on the technology and its implications for their businesses.
Source: Toi Hangarau
“Māori digital content creators feel the most vulnerable and are protective of Indigenous content, while companies with large customer bases are already using GenAI to strengthen and scale their business models,” the report notes.
“The overall adoption of GenAI across the Toi Hangarau enterprises remains tentative and rudimentary. Some are harnessing AI to bolster their business processes. A few of the more resourced companies are developing in-house AI-driven solutions. A small proportion of founders choose to refrain from using it for cultural (Indigenous) content.”
In a commentary piece featured in the report, economist and former Productivity Commission chair, Dr Ganesh Nana, writes that the tech sector’s central contribution to a “non-volume but value-focused future” will be crucial to the government’s target of doubling the value of exports over the next ten years.
“In particular, Māori pākihi (businesses) can provide—and are providing—the difference with applications, services, and opportunities for communities across the globe. In addition, intelligent and innovative tech delivery offers a welcome antidote to the now resource-constrained production of more and more goods,” he writes.
Source: Toi Hangarau
