Māori economic participation in the infrastructure sector – Elevating enterprise ownership and labour market outcomes

He tina ki runga, he tāmore ki raro (In order to flourish above, one must be firmly rooted below).

For the past 12-months, a team from Sapere, including David Moore, Preston Davies, and Jamie O’Hare, has assessed employment and business ownership outcomes in the horizontal infrastructure sector of Aotearoa New Zealand. The mahi sought to elucidate the landscape of Māori employment and business ownership in the sector. It explored the key challenges that prohibit greater levels of Māori participation, while also identifying key opportunities for growth. By harnessing these invaluable insights, the mahi culminated in a rautaki (strategy) aimed at driving substantial improvements in both business ownership and employment outcomes for Māori, while also recognising the unique cultural relationship Māori share with the whenua.