Te Pae Tawhiti: Why International Investment Needs an Indigenous Lens

The Investment Landscape Is Shifting. Aotearoa Needs to Move With It. Global capital is looking for new markets. Supply chains are being redrawn. Free trade agreements are opening doors that did not exist five years ago. The India-New Zealand FTA, the expansion of CPTPP, and the growing appetite for ESG-aligned investment are creating opportunities that Aotearoa has never had access to before. But opportunity without strategy is just noise. For too long, investment conversations in New Zealand have happened in boardrooms that do not include the communities most affected by the outcomes. Infrastructure gets built, trade deals get signed, and economic development strategies get funded, but the regions, the iwi, and the communities who should be at the centre of those decisions are often the last to know and the last to benefit.

Here is the harder truth: too many of our own people who have the education, the networks, and the capability to change this are sitting on the sidelines. We have Māori and Pasifika professionals in law firms, investment banks, consultancies, and boardrooms across the country and around the world. Many of them are doing exceptional work, for other people’s visions. This is not a criticism. It is a challenge. If you have the education, use it for us. If you have the networks, open the doors for us. If you have the skills, bring them home. Not because anyone owes anyone anything, but because the collective cannot advance if its most capable people are building wealth and influence everywhere except where it matters most. Te Pae Tawhiti is designed to bring those people, and that energy, into the room. T.I.I.N.A. Investment Summit 2026: Te Pae Tawhiti 14 October 2026 | Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae, Whakatāne Te Pae Tawhiti. Where Vision, Intergenerational Impact, and Strategic Investment Come Together, is the inaugural T.I.I.N.A. Investment Summit. It brings together investors, business leaders, iwi organisations, land trusts, government agencies, entrepreneurs, and international partners for a single purpose: to connect capital with capability and create investment pathways that deliver lasting value. This is not a talkfest. It is a working summit designed to produce relationships, commitments, and actionable outcomes. Hosted at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae, the summit is grounded in the principle that the best investment decisions are made when the people who hold the knowledge, the people who hold the capital, and the people who hold the vision are in the same room. Why International Investment Matters for Māori The Māori economy is valued at over $100 billion. Iwi-owned assets span fisheries, forestry, agriculture, tourism, property, energy, and technology. Post-settlement governance entities manage portfolios that rival mid-tier fund managers. And yet, Māori participation in international investment and trade remains disproportionately low. This is not a capability gap. It is an access gap. And it is an ambition gap. We have the talent. We have the assets. We have the cultural frameworks that the rest of the world is only now beginning to understand, kaitiakitanga, intergenerational thinking, collective ownership, relational economics. These are not soft concepts. They are competitive advantages in a global economy that is desperate for alternatives to short-term, extractive models. But advantages mean nothing if we do not deploy them. The world will not come to us. We have to position ourselves at the table, with our own terms, our own data, and our own vision for what prosperity looks like. International investors are actively looking for sustainable investment opportunities aligned with ESG frameworks. Indigenous-led enterprises are natural fits for impact investment because sustainability is not a strategy, it is a worldview. They are looking for primary sector partnerships in agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, and food production. New Zealand’s reputation for quality is Māori land, Māori water, and Māori stewardship. They are looking for infrastructure co-investment in housing, energy, transport, and digital connectivity, the regions where infrastructure investment is most needed are often the regions where iwi are the largest landowners and employers. And they are looking for innovation and technology partnerships that bring global expertise to local challenges, climate adaptation, digital procurement, precision agriculture, and health technology are all areas where Māori enterprises are already operating. Te Pae Tawhiti creates the forum for these connections to happen, not as beneficiaries of someone else’s strategy, but as architects of our own.

A Challenge to Our Educated, Our Professionals, Our Leaders If you are Māori or Pasifika and you hold a degree, a professional qualification, a seat at a corporate table, or influence in your field, this is your moment. The generation before us fought for recognition. They fought for settlements. They fought to be seen. That fight is not over, but the frontier has moved. The fight now is for economic sovereignty. For investment capability. For the kind of prosperity that does not depend on government funding cycles or political goodwill. We need our lawyers to understand investment structures. We need our accountants to build financial models for iwi growth. We need our engineers to lead infrastructure programmes. We need our entrepreneurs to think beyond the domestic market. We need our academics to produce research that changes policy and attracts capital. Be more. Do more. Not for personal advancement, for the collective advancement. Position yourself to be the architect of your own prosperity, and then extend that architecture to your whānau, your hapū, your iwi, and your community. The summit at Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae on 14 October is not for spectators. It is for people who are ready to act. The Six Panel Themes The summit is structured around six panel discussions, each addressing a critical dimension of the investment landscape: 1. Global Investment and International Trade. Foreign direct investment, export growth, international partnerships, and emerging global markets. How does Aotearoa position itself, and how do Māori enterprises access international capital? 2. Building Intergenerational Wealth. Long-term asset growth, investment diversification, and sustainable wealth creation. How do iwi and Māori businesses build portfolios that serve not just this generation, but the next seven? 3. Innovation, Technology and Artificial Intelligence. How emerging technologies are transforming industries, productivity, and investment opportunities. Where are the risks, and where are the returns? 4. Infrastructure, Climate and Future Resilience. Investing in infrastructure, sustainability, and future-ready communities. How do we build for resilience in a climate that is already changing? 5. Land, Property and Asset Development. Unlocking value through strategic development, housing, commercial property, and productive land use. How do Māori landowners maximise returns without compromising kaitiakitanga? 6. Workforce Development and Future Economies. Preparing businesses, communities, and industries for future workforce demands. Where are the jobs of the future, and how do we ensure our people are ready? Who Should Be in the Room Te Pae Tawhiti is designed for decision makers. Attendance is by invitation and registration, ensuring the quality of conversation matches the significance of the opportunities being discussed. We are bringing together investors and fund managers, domestic and international. Iwi entities, PSGEs, and Māori land trusts. Business leaders and entrepreneurs. Government agencies and economic development organisations. Infrastructure and property developers. Technology and innovation leaders. Trade and export specialists. If you have built something, if you are building something, or if you are ready to build something, this is where it starts. Founding Panel Partners Six exclusive Founding Panel Partner positions are available for organisations that want to be at the centre of these conversations. Each partner receives speaking rights, exclusive panel branding, summit-wide brand exposure, delegate access, and direct connection to every leader in the room. Investment: $5,000 + GST. This is not sponsorship for visibility. It is partnership for influence. The Strongest Investments Are Not Measured Solely by Financial Returns They are measured by the opportunities they create, the partnerships they enable, and the impact they leave for future generations. Te Pae Tawhiti is built on that principle. It is a summit where the people who shape investment decisions, the people who drive innovation, and the people who lead communities will come together to create pathways for growth that are commercially sound, culturally grounded, and built to last. 14 October 2026. Te Mānuka Tūtahi Marae, Whakatāne. Connecting capital, capability, leadership, and opportunity to shape the future of Aotearoa. For Founding Panel Partner enquiries or to register your interest, contact Donna Perese, Executive Director International Investment and Partnerships: donna@tiina.co.nz We do not adapt who we are to fit the room. We change the room.