Māui Toa

What is the whakapapa behind our name Māui Toa?

Venture capital conjures up ideas of risk and return.

That there is risk in early-stage tech investment, but with it comes the potential of significant return.

Māui personifies this mindset. He lived high risk, high reward.

He pushed boundaries and took chances. And the rewards were profound.

Our name was given to us by Dr Rangiānehu Mātāmua – Ngāi Tuhoe.

Our logo and brand was similarly given to us by Hemi Sundrgen – Te Atiawa, Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa.

Our aspirations are to:

Steer our collective waka

Our waka

Collectively, iwi Māori can do so much more. We want to generate wealth, and grow kaimahi, owners and investors.

Riding the new wave

Not chasing but leading. Rapid acceleration of everything digital to create future successes (unicorns and dragons) to reap true value.

Where our waka is heading

Looking 20 years in the future, Māui Toa will have upskilled a kāhui of Māori poised to be entrepreneurs and investors in the dynamic new economy. Not just for this fund, but to take skills home so the halo effect can be felt in communities throughout the motu.

Reimagine & reshape

Our way, a Māori way, a Māui Toa way.

Kaupapa

We bring strong kaupapa to technology and align this with tikanga through the way we embed it. From the way we invest, to how we look at investments to the end-to-end value chain from the vendors.

Build a new economy for Māori

Innovate

Pivot to where global economies are heading as it pertains to technology, and provide a pathway for us to get there. 

Access

Forge new pathways for rangatahi – open more doors & opportunities so that more of our mokopuna become investors and founders.

Our tikanga:

We ensure our whare at Māui Toa has tikanga and that our tikanga guides all that we do. 

We view things through a te ao Māori perspective

We are connected through whakapapa and kaupapa. We come to the table with richness of connection and a beautiful kaleidoscope of relationships.

We prioritise relationships

Through the concept of whakawhanaungatanga and kanohi ki te kanohi. All funds argue they bring relationships to the table. We will live it, early and demonstrably.

We plan long-term

We think and live intergenerationally. For the collective well-being of our people and of the people we work with.

We bring more returns than cash

The number of people a fund touches is immense. When we win, our people win. 

We engage with those who share our values

We uphold mana by agreeing rules of engagement. Dialling up our Indigenous procurement processes to influence how the industry operates e.g. managing waste, aligning to Māori world views, ensuring our people are part of the build and implementation, safeguarding our whakapapa, our tāngata, te taiao.

We are inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of Māui.

We know it’s a long journey and it takes courage to leave familiar shores behind.

Māui Toa.