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Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi.
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.
Māori businesses across Aotearoa have benefited from Hāpaitia Ngā Pakihi – a Capability Uplift Programme – that Height has run since 2021 on behalf of Te Puni Kōkiri.
Through the Programme more than 20 people across the Height team have equipped 120 pakihi (businesses) to win more work from Government and private sector clients. Often the business owners are experts in their trade or profession, but need commercial and business support to price, tender and market their offerings.
The success of the programme is evident, with the pakihi securing more than $45 million of new work with Government and the private sector.
Height CEO, Warner Cowin, says that outcome, and its flow-on effects for people and communities, represents a step forward for supplier diversity in Aotearoa.
“There are far-reaching benefits in uplifting the commercial and business development capability of Māori business people – not just for Māori, but for our whole economy and Government’s key success indicators,” he says.
“Supplier diversity is still evolving in Aotearoa and the success of this programme has been a move in the right direction – a small amount of investment to provide huge results. It has been a privilege to do this work and to help contribute to the growth of the Māori economy.”
“Thank you to all the people and organisations who’ve supported us on this journey – and particularly to Te Puni Kōkiri for entrusting us with this important mahi. It has been an absolute honour,” says Warner.
The programme by numbers
- March 2021 – November 2024
- 120 businesses
- Contracts won – $45m of new work with Government
- Business sector – 60% construction, 40% tech/special services/social services
- Sustainable employment – 53% of the pakihi in the Capability Uplift Programme employ people who were previously not in education, employment or training
About Hāpaitia Ngā Pakihi: Capability Uplift Programme
The programme was all about building a sustainable, diverse supply chain. It responded to the challenges experienced for both suppliers and buying agencies in Aotearoa.
The complexity of the government procurement process and required compliance can be intimidating for new suppliers. This means that it can be challenging for buying agencies to meet mandatory supplier diversity and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets, and attract new businesses to tender or work with the government and corporations.
The Capability Uplift Programme was designed to support Māori, Pasifika, and non-traditional government suppliers to navigate the New Zealand government procurement process and develop competency to build a genuinely sustainable pool of diverse suppliers.
The programme had multiple options, from bespoke one-to-one support to wider group learning opportunities. The core learning outcomes across all the options were focused on: demystifying the procurement process; assisting businesses in identifying their unique value propositions moving from a cost-based to a value-based approach; developing robust tender and proposal responses that meet compliance requirements; and establishing sustainable pricing strategies and managing commercial risks effectively.