The Southern Initiative releases new data on the Māori businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau

Today, The Southern Initiative released a data snapshot of the Māori businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau. 

The latest data shows that despite punching above their weight in contributions to national GDP, Māori businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau have been more adversely affected by economic disruption, than businesses in other parts of the country.

The Southern Initiative’s Māori Outcomes Intraprenuer Kahurangi Malcolm says this is largely due to the fact that Māori businesses have not yet recovered from the global financial crisis (GFC) from the last decade.

“What we know is Māori businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau are hit stronger and longer by economic shocks. A fact we must take into account as we navigate the Covid-19 economic recovery,” says Malcolm.

The fallout from the GFC in Aotearoa saw unemployment peak by 2013, and according to the new data, in this period the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori employer base shrunk in absolute terms – this was in sharp contrast with non-Māori business.  It then took until 2016 for the number of Māori employers in Tāmaki Makaurau to recover to 2010 levels. By 2020 there had been only 5.5% growth in the number of Māori employers in Tāmaki Makaurau compared to 2010 – with only 114 more Māori employers found in the Tāmaki Makaurau data.  This compares to 25.3% growth in the number of non-Māori businesses in the region. Māori businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau employed 11.0% fewer employees in 2020 than they did in 2010, while non-Māori businesses were hiring 42.3% more workers.

Meanwhile, in the rest of Aotearoa, Māori businesses outperformed non-Māori business in terms of growth in total 'value added’ GDP contribution, and employee growth, and outperformed Tāmaki Makaurau Māori business growth on nearly every indicator. Despite this, key business supports during the Covid-19 response period excluded the big urban centres, meaning that struggling Māori business in Tāmaki Makaurau missed out.

Councillor Angela Dalton of the Manurewa-Papakura Ward says, “we cannot afford to repeat the patterns of the past and it’s crucial Tāmaki Makaurau isn’t left out of any economic recovery efforts as we have been in previous Covid-19 support schemes.”

With the government announcing its budget on Thursday, The Southern Initiative is hoping that the sacrifices made by Tāmaki Makaurau will be recognised through investment into Māori businesses and an equitable economic recovery.

“Tāmaki Makaurau has borne the brunt of the lockdowns, more than anywhere else in the country. All we’re asking for is fair support for our businesses, so they don’t get left behind again. We need targeted and strategic investment in RnD, capital, productivity, training and entrepreneurship, and improved coordination of business support delivery to small businesses, including to help them engage with social procurement,” says Malcolm. 

The data snapshot is based on national and regional-level IDI datasets covering the period 2010-2020 released by Te Puni Kōkiri as part of their Te Matapaeroa project.