Te Ara Hiranga recognised at the Tipu Pakihi 2025 Māori Business Awards

Kia mataara, kia mataara. Te Ara Hiranga is humbled to have been recognised at the Tipu Pakihi 2025 Māori Business Awards, with Directors Aaron Tait-Jones, Blair Waipara and Stevo O’Rourke in attendance to accept the Regional Business Network Award. Being nominated by Te Awe Wellington Māori Business Network and acknowledged by our peers is a privilege we hold with genuine gratitude.

The awards were hosted by Te Matarau a Māui, bringing together the four Māori business networks across our wider region – Te Awe Wellington, Awarua Te Pākihi o Porirua, Māori in Business Wairarapa, and Te Roopu Pākihi Kāpiti Horowhenua. The evening was a celebration of Māori enterprise, leadership, and intergenerational purpose, with a palpable sense of kaupapa and aroha in the room.

We extend warm congratulations to the other regional winners – Muri Aroha, SAP Contractors, and Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Their mahi is often done quietly and without fanfare, yet it shapes opportunities for our communities and contributes to the future wellbeing of our tamariki and mokopuna.

The awards also paid tribute to two outstanding rangatira inducted as the inaugural Pūkenga Rangatira into the TMAM Hall of Fame: Trevor J Moeke and Dr Kathie Irwin, MNZM. Their long-standing contributions across kaupapa Māori, research, education, and business continue to influence and uplift countless others. Their leadership has paved pathways for many of us in the Māori business ecosystem.

For Te Ara Hiranga, this recognition is a reminder of the collective effort behind our kaupapa and the importance of strengthening the Māori business economy through collaboration, shared knowledge, and values-aligned partnerships. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the ecosystem alongside the many organisations, entrepreneurs, and rangatira who make up this community.

Ngā mihi nunui to Te Matarau a Māui for hosting the awards and uniting the networks, and to Te Awe Wellington Māori Business Network for the nomination. It was an evening that honoured legacy, celebrated achievement, and affirmed the purpose behind Māori enterprise.