Awhina Mōkai Enterprises from Ngata Memorial College in Ruatōria picked up the Te Puni Kōkiri award for the most successful Māori company at the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme national awards and gala dinner, held at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington on Wednesday 4 November 2009.

Their product, Awhina Mōkai pet care, is a first-aid kit for pets, currently the only kit of its kind on the New Zealand market. Produced in consultation with a leading east coast veterinary service, it offers pet owners a chance to empower themselves with knowledge and equips them with tools to help manage and stabilise pet injuries or illnesses until proper veterinary care can be accessed.

Two of the directors of Awhina Mōkai are pig hunters and conscious that pig hunting is not just a past-time for some, but a livelihood. Should their dogs get injured, help is more than a short trip to town away. For some on the coast, Gisborne is a three-hour drive away and that’s where the kits come in handy as an interim measure.

“I would like to congratulate Awhina Mōkai Enterprises for a most innovative and creative approach to business that also solves a practical issue for many on the coast,” says Te Puni Kōkiri Chief Executive Leith Comer.

There were more than 15 entries for the Te Puni Kōkiri award for the most successful Māori company, with the other two finalists being Vantage Enterprize (John Paul College, Rotorua) and Aotearoa Audio (New Plymouth Girls’ High School), who also won the Edge award for excellence in communications and were runners-up in the Todd Corporation Young Enterprisers Awards.

“We invited the three finalists of our sponsored award to Te Puni Kōkiri national office in Wellington to honour and congratulate them for their hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit shown throughout the Young Enterprise Scheme year,” says Leith Comer.

“Over the past few years we have developed a good relationship with the Young Enterprise Scheme team to nurture and foster rangatahi in business and we will continue to do so,” he says. For more information about Awhina Mōkai Enterprises or to purchase an Awhina pet care first-aid kit email: georgie@ngatacollege.school.nz.

Aotearoa Audio from New Plymouth Girls’ High School created Ngā Kōrero “Talking Stories” which is a creative two-disc CD set that contains a collection of 10 short stories written by famous New Zealand authors.

It is a great gift idea and is an easy and enjoyable way to hear some of New Zealand’s finest literature. Ngā Kōrero also includes stories that are taught for NCEA so it can be used as a teaching and learning resource in schools. For more information or to purchase an Ngā Kōrero “Talking Stories” CD email: aotearoaaudio@npghs.school.nz.

Vantage Enterprize from John Paul College in Rotorua created Mai Moko, a temporary Māori moko which allows kapa haka groups to have an authentic moko for their performances and for tourists to gain a cultural piece of Aotearoa to take home with them. For more information or to purchase a Mai Moko email: wm@jpc.school.nz.