Te Kōrau CO.STARTERS

AUT is pleased to bring you Te Kōrau CO.STARTERS, a programme that equips aspiring rakahinonga with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to take the next step. It is run over two immersive wānanga; the first programme will be run from Awataha Marae in Northcote with future programmes available throughout Northland.

Learn awesome kaipakihi skills in a whānau environment.

Why Te Kōrau?

Using the successful and internationally proven CO.STARTERS, a programme that helps to validate ideas and build a sustainable business, Te Kōrau weaves in Māori worldviews and narratives. It places business success within Te Ao Māori by understanding that our tikanga and environment mean we operate and prioritise different values and protocols within our businesses.

Socio-economic disadvantage is about differences in the income and quality of life of different people. Māori (and Pasifika) are more likely than other ethnicities in New Zealand to experience low income and poor health and thus socio-economic disadvantage.

We know that Māori have a collectivist culture and focus on how they can not only help themselves but their wider whānau as a whole. Our goal is to equip and whakamana our people with the skills to lift them and their wider whānau up by pursuing tino rangatiratanga and self-sufficiency to establish profitable businesses.

Who is Te Kōrau for?

Do you have an idea that you’d like to explore and develop? A business that’s ready for launch? A business that’s ready for growth? Are you creative or skilled but don’t know how to utilise that for profit or run it as a business?

Do you want to solve a problem and make a difference in your community? Are you in touch with your Māori culture or are you wanting to learn and hold values of whānau and are mindful of the wider Māori community in regards to your marae, hapū and iwi?

Te Kōrau CO.STARTERS can be utilised wherever you’re at on that journey.

Te Kōrau is aimed mainly at Māori school leavers, university students, young parents and those between 18 and 40.

What you get out of the Te Kōrau CO.STARTERS programme

• Whakamanawa / confidence and a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business
• Identifying whether or not an idea is good and how to change it to make it work
• The āheinga / ability to articulate what your business does and how it works
• The next steps needed to move forward
• A whānau-like community of peers, mentors, business services and a national network of support
• An awhi (safe, embracing) environment to learn in
• Designed for aspiring and seasoned rakahinonga (entrepreneurs)