Fully Funded Growth Strategy Support for Māori Businesses
Apply now for a place in the Growth Navigation Program from Te Puni Kōkiri
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A Growth Opportunity for Ambitious Māori Business Owners
Te Puni Kōkiri is offering fully funded access to a business acceleration program tailored for Māori-owned small to medium enterprises with bold ambitions.
Whether you're already exporting, preparing to expand internationally, or planning to do so in the future, this program offers a valuable opportunity to sharpen your strategy, clarify your direction, and make confident decisions about your next stage of growth.
Unlike traditional incubators or accelerators focused on high-tech, venture-backed startups, this program is designed specifically for established businesses that have been operating for several years. You don’t need a business degree as this program is built for owners who’ve learned by doing.
The Growth Navigation Program helps Māori business owners to step back from the day-to-day, gain fresh perspective, and plan for sustainable growth.
Thirty Māori businesses will be selected to participate in the program, valued at $3,600 + GST.
From those, ten businesses will be chosen to receive a personalised Market Scan; a six-week, in-depth research project valued at $12,000 + GST.
What’s Included
The Growth Navigation Program
Available to 30 selected businesses
Think like an investor, act with intent.
This is a practical, hands-on business growth program designed to help you step back, refocus, and move forward with clarity. Choose the format that suits you best:
A one-day, in-person workshop, or
Four online sessions (1.5 hours each), delivered in small groups of ten businesses.
Guided by an experienced business facilitator, you’ll work through a structured process to:
Assess your current business performance
Clarify your ambition and direction
Explore and refine your target markets
Identify new opportunities for growth
You’ll leave with a sharper understanding of where your business creates value and a clear plan for what to focus on next. If you're already thinking about:
Launching new products or services
Entering new markets
Acquiring other businesses
Raising capital
Planning a successful exit
…then this program will help you turn those ideas into actionable strategies.
Software: Full-Year Access to the Growth Navigation Platform
The Growth Navigation Program is powered by the D/srupt Growth Platform, an intuitive online tool designed to help business owners take control of their growth journey.
Used throughout the program, the platform enables you to apply the frameworks and insights directly to your business in a flexible, self-paced way. It’s not a one-off workshop or traditional consultancy; it’s a continuous, guided experience built for real-world decision-making.
What the D/srupt Platform Offers:
Self-Driven Growth Navigation - A structured pathway that guides you through each phase of growth, helping you make confident, well-informed decisions.
Comprehensive Tools - From performance assessments to scenario planning, the platform delivers practical insights tailored to your business.
Ongoing Access - With 12 months of included access, you can revisit, refine, and adapt your strategies as your business evolves and market conditions change.
Whether you're planning to expand, innovate, or prepare for investment, the D/srupt Growth Platform ensures you stay focused, strategic, and in control.
A Strategic Clarity Workshop
Available to 30 selected businesses
A Market Scan
*Available to 10 selected businesses
Turning Direction into Action.
After the Growth Navigation Program, you’ll meet one-on-one with a senior growth strategist for a three-hour session to sharpen your thinking. This is a focused session to help you reflect, prioritise, and turn direction into action.
Together you’ll test your thinking, build a stronger plan, and clarify what needs to happen next.
Data Driven insights
A Six-Week Strategic Market Research Project Tailored to Your Business
This intensive research project delivers deep, commercial insights into your market, customers, competitors, and the broader ecosystem you operate in. It’s designed to uncover the size, drivers, and dynamics of alternative target markets, highlighting “white space” opportunities where your business can grow.
A key focus is identifying potential strategic partnerships that can accelerate market entry. These may include joint ventures, alliances, distribution agreements, or licensing deals; all aimed at scaling efficiently while reducing entry costs and mitigating risk.
At the end of the six weeks, you’ll receive:
A comprehensive market intelligence report (100+ pages)
A set of growth scenarios outlining viable paths forward, including what each option involves and where the greatest opportunities lie
This is not generic research, it’s focused, actionable, and commercially grounded. It’s the kind of insight that has powered many of New Zealand’s most successful growth stories being built on strategic clarity, not chance.
Who It’s For
This opportunity is for Māori business owners who:
Want to grow, locally or internationally
Are ready to think differently about their business
Value clarity, structure, and practical tools
Are willing to invest time in the process
What You’ll Walk Away With
A clearer view of your business and its potential
A growth strategy grounded in commercial thinking
Practical tools to support decision-making and team alignment
Confidence to act on your ambition
Strategic insight into your target market (if selected for Market Scan)
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Accelerator is designed for ambitious Māori business owners and leaders looking to gain clarity and confidence in making bold growth decisions. If you're serious about scaling your business, this programme is for you.
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You'll gain:
A structured framework to navigate business growth.
Clarity on market opportunities, strategic moves, and a roadmap for growth.
Confidence to make bold growth moves.
Access to the D/srupt Growth Navigation Platform
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The Accelerator runs either over a single in-person day, or over four weeks, with four live sessions (2 hours each).
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It’s completely free to apply and attend.
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Simply fill out the application form using the “apply now” on this page.
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To get the full value from the Growth Navigation Program, you need to attend either the full in-person day or all four online sessions. Each part builds on the last, giving you a structured way to think about your business and make confident growth decisions.
About D/srupt?
Dsrupt is a New Zealand-based company that helps ambitious business owners grow with clarity, structure, and intent. They’ve been doing this work for over a decade, supporting hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses across Aotearoa.
Their work spans industries: manufacturing, food and beverage, tech, tourism, professional services, and more. They’re known for their calm, focused approach, and for helping owners cut through complexity to make better decisions.
At the centre of their work is the Dsrupt Growth Platform. This is a strategic tool that helps business owners see their business as a whole, across four key dimensions: Market, Offer, Operations, and Ownership. It gives structure to conversations that are often messy or stuck, and turns strategy from something abstract into something useful and clear.
The Dsrupt team includes experienced strategists, facilitators, and researchers. They’ve led hundreds of sessions with business owners and leadership teams, helping them find clarity, align around purpose, and move forward with intent.
They don’t offer generic advice. They don’t pretend to have all the answers. What they do is help business owners think more clearly about what matters, and build a plan they believe in.