The government has announced an option for the first time to record data that identifies a Māori enterprise on the New Zealand Business Number register.
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Businesses will be able to self-identify as a Māori business based on a number of factors which could include ownership, staff members, philosophy and tikanga, management practices, branding or marketing.
Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta said it had been difficult to accurately understand the needs and successes of small to medium sized Māori businesses until now.
"We're trying to get a better understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the Māori economy, so by including Māori small to medium enterprises in the NZBN [it] will enable better capture of data and information to understand what is happening across Māori businesses so I think this is an improvement to what we currently have in terms of knowledge, data and insight," she said.
She said Māori businesses had largely been identified through organisations such as the Federation of Māori Authorities.
"These have a good oversight of trusts and incorporations, we have the Māori Women's Development Incorporation who offer a small business loan so they have a good level of intelligence in this area and then we have New Zealand Māori Tourism as well as Poutama Trust," she said.
"There is information captured but it's very dispersed, and what the NZBN identifier will enable is a broader capture of information, understanding of Māori businesses, their make up and their profile and contribute to the way in which we can better refine initiatives that will help underpin Māori economic resiliency."
The chair of the Federation of Māori Authorities, Traci Houpapa, is pleased with the move.
"It has been great to see government listen to our issues and suggestions and to see tangible results. There is more work to do but we can finally start to see a solution to the lack of data on Māori economic activity," she said.
"It has always been difficult to understand the issues and needs of Māori SMEs. Collecting data on who they are and what they provide will help us to understand how we can support those businesses" said Pania Tyson-Nathan, chief executive of NZ Māori Tourism.
The Māori business identifier is now being built into the NZBN, and existing and new businesses will be invited to update or register their information when it becomes available.
