Business comp for young Maori goes down to wire
university-of-waikato
Mon Jul 30 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Business comp for young Maori goes down to wire
Monday, 30 July 2007, 12:07 am
Press Release: University of Waikato
The end is nigh
It’s got down to the pointy end of the Rangatahi Business Competition.
On Wednesday and Thursday this week 25 teams of Maori secondary school students from around the central North Island will compete in the finals of the Rangatahi Business Case Competition in Hamilton.
Sponsored by the University of Waikato Management School and Te Puni Kokiri, the competition aims to introduce business concepts to young people and showcase the success stories of Maori in business.
It's the culmination of three months hard work for the students. On top of their regular school work they've attended management school lectures to learn business analysis and interviewing and communication skills, then they’ve applied their new skills by conducting an analysis of a Maori business. From this, each team of four or five has written a report on the business and now must present their findings on stage before a panel of judges and a large audience at the competition finals.
Businesses under the microscope include Auckland radio station MaiFM, award-winning reggae band Katchafire and digital Maori art business Image Nation. There's also a funeral business (Simplicity), Alt TV, Tu Mai magazine, Puff'n Billy, which manufactures frozen hangi, Navigator Tours and gaming software producer Metia Interactive.
Waikato serial entrepreneur Neil Richardson (NZ Home Loans, Visique) is impressed enough with the calibre of students coming through this competition to offer four $2,500 scholarships for university study at Waikato. The winners will be announced at the finals.
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But not all participants are high achievers. While some are head prefects and school leaders, there are some students taking part who've virtually dropped out of mainstream education -- but the competition has given them the skills and confidence to get up on stage in front of an audience and present a business analysis.
The brains behind the competition is Duke Boon, Maori consultant at Waikato Management School. He organised the first competition last year which involved just six schools. “So it’s grown almost beyond recognition in a short time,” says Duke.
“This competition offers a fresh approach to engaging Maori students and appeals to a wide spectrum of young people. The unifying factor is that taking part in the competition gives our rangatahi skills and confidence. Some will go on to be the next generation of Maori business leaders. Others will gain a sense of achievement and belief in themselves.”
The competing teams come from South Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Whakatane, Rotorua and Taupo. The Bay of Plenty teams present their cases on Wednesday night. South Auckland and Hamilton schools present Thursday.
ENDS
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