“The data will help provide a better picture of the contribution Māori businesses make to the economy.”

The NZBN is designed to make it faster and easier to do business by holding core information on a register so it doesn’t need to be repeated each time a business does a transaction with a government agency.

“Better data on Māori businesses will make it easier to identify how government agencies can support them, particularly in responding to the impacts of COVID-19,” according to Mr Bowkett. “It will help us to measure the effectiveness of policies and make it easier to partner with Māori on investment and collaboration opportunities.”

He said the latest initiative follows efforts by Government agencies to expand their knowledge of Māori businesses.  This includes research such as Te Matapaeroa 2019, commissioned by Te Puni Kōkiri, which greatly increased knowledge of the size and scope of the Māori SME sector, self-employed and businesses employing large numbers of Māori. Te Ōhanga Māori 2019, a report prepared for Te Pūtea Matua/Reserve Bank by BERL on the size of the Māori economy, points to an increasing role for Māori in entrepreneurship and business ownership over coming decades.

“We will be working with government agencies, Māori business networks and other key stakeholders to encourage Māori businesses to support this kaupapa. The more businesses that register, the more informed will be the policy advice and outcomes for Māori as the register will connect information held on other government data sets, enabling more accurate reporting on Māori economic activity and help tailor our support by region and sector.”

Māori businesses can complete a check-box field on the digital New Zealand Business Number register. The criteria for self-identifying as a Māori business is consistent with agencies such as Statistics NZ, and is based on factors including ownership and directorship, staff members, philosophy and tikanga, management practices, branding and marketing, tangible assets such as land or fishing rights, or intangible assets like kaupapa Māori or cultural property.