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How to do Business with New Zealand’s Māori Culture

3 min read

The Māori are a native people indigenous to New Zealand. They make up roughly 15% of the national population and have a prominent place in both the business and living culture of New Zealand.

The Māori own many businesses across New Zealand and have a very different business culture compared to the English New Zealanders. It’s inevitable that you’ll find yourself with opportunities to do business with the Māori people while in New Zealand.

The Māori own many businesses across New Zealand and have a very different business culture compared to the English New Zealanders.

Business is seen as an aspect of day-to-day life in Māori culture. So you should prepare yourself for them to be friendlier and more forward than a traditional US business.

Papatuanuku & Taonga

The concept of “papatuanuku” is the foundation of Māori business, it translates to “land and soil.” In their culture it is “taonga,” or “treasure.” For the Māori people, business exists to serve the Earth and to help preserve it.

Because of this it’s a good idea to consider the environmental impacts of your business. They’ll be more likely to trade with you if you show them your willingness to take environmentally friendly options where possible.

Important Phrases & Simple Descriptions

Papatuanuku: Land and soil

Papatuanuku translates to the land and soil. While it may not seem like it, this is an important aspect of the Māori business culture as they place immense significance on environmentalism.

Taonga: Treasure

Taonga refers to something precious, something to be honored and protected. This usually refers to family and nature.

Pūtake: Reason for being

Pūtake refers quite literally to the reason for the business being run. This is usually either the standard reason (making money), maintaining their ecosystem, or the preservation of their tribe.

Most businesses located in major cities tend to be for profit. However, that isn’t universally true.

Tūranga: Location of the business

The Tūranga is the location or the anchor of the business. This is important in Māori business because many of them tend to operate out of multi-business structures on Māori land. Because Māori land is granted by the government and will never be sold, this changes the way the business operates and manages expenses.

Tikanga: Values and ways of doing business

Tikanga is a grouping of business methods and beliefs.

Tikanga includes such topics as Māori diversity, Māori unity, self-motivation, Māori kinship (networking), protecting nature, spirituality, generosity, and that the best possible result isn’t necessarily monetary gain.

Advantages of Māori Business
New-zealand-agriculture

The Māori people’s business methods have a lot to offer your small business.

Their primary focuses usually include environmentalism and the preservation of culture. They treat concepts such as unity and loyalty with as much importance as profit, so if you can win them over you can usually count on them as a long-term business partner.

They usually prefer running agricultural businesses. This along with their strong values of loyalty and responsibility make them an ideal fit as a produce supplier.

They usually prefer running agricultural businesses. This along with their strong values of loyalty and responsibility make them an ideal fit as a produce supplier.

Payment Process

When doing business with the modern Māori people, you know that they value reliability, and trust you to make your payments in an expedient and reliable way.

There’s no better way to follow through on this than with Veem.

Veem is a trustworthy B2B payment service that you can rely on to connect you to your new Māori suppliers in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Veem bypasses the delays and hidden fees associated with the traditional bank system to make sure your money gets where it needs to be, when it needs to be there.

Sending payments with Veem is as simple as sending an email.

And signing up is just as easy, join today!

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* This blog provides general information and discussion about global business payments and related subjects. The content provided in this blog ("Content”), should not be construed as and is not intended to constitute financial, legal or tax advice. You should seek the advice of professionals prior to acting upon any information contained in the Content. All Content is provided strictly “as is” and we make no warranty or representation of any kind regarding the Content.