Māori businesses will play a vital role to help lift
whānau Māori aspirations and dreams for a better life,
while reinforcing New Zealand’s economic security.
A
successful Progressive Procurement initiative to diversify
government spend on goods and services and increase Māori
business engagement with government procurement is getting a
further $26 million investment over the next two
years.
Minister for Māori Development Willie
Jackson said the investment enables a scale up of the action
underway since 2020, to further build Māori business
capability and shift government agency buying practices to
be more inclusive.
“This investment in Māori
business and workers delivers on a Labour election
commitment to better support whānau Māori enterprise, and
is part of a wider Budget strategy to focus on economic
security in good times and bad.
“We set an
expectation that government agencies will draw on more
diverse suppliers with a target of five percent of the total
number of mandated agencies’ procurement contracts awarded
to Māori businesses.
“We’re seeing signs of
success and we know we can do more. Achieving better
economic outcomes by helping small to medium businesses to
be tender ready is a game changer in that regard. This is
creating positive regional outcomes in other areas such as
employment and training too,” he said.
The $26
million funding announced today will be used to:
·
Scale up local networks in regions to grow awareness of
government opportunities and build capability
·
Provide targeted one-to-one support to Māori businesses
that are ready to deliver procurement solutions but need to
lift capability to navigate and engage effectively in
government tender processes
· Develop a centralised
Māori business database
· Continue to engage with
and build capability of government agencies to achieve
long-term change in government procurement
processes
Te Puni Kōkiri and Ministry for Business,
Innovation and Employment have been growing awareness of
Progressive Procurement and reducing barriers to Māori
businesses engaging in the complex government procurement
environment.
“Our regional approach to improve that
is working and the new funding will support us to deliver
targeted capability uplift services for 100 Māori
businesses per year.”
“Across Aotearoa we’ve
seen some exemplar agencies who are using Progressive
Procurement as a force for social good and inclusive
economic growth. This is an exciting opportunity to continue
that momentum and lift everyone up,” Willie Jackson
said.
“Government procurement is about using our
collective buying power to deliver better value for people,
communities and the planet,” said Stuart
Nash.
“Procurement is critical to achieving a
high-wage, low-emissions economy. Around the world,
governments use procurement to deal with the real challenges
we face, like climate change, growing inequality, uneven
access to labour market opportunities or productivity tools,
and the need for greater innovation and diverse business
approaches.
“This year’s Budget continues the
government’s Wellbeing approach. What this means in
practice is that we recognise there are many elements to
making a successful economy and society.
“We need
strong communities where we look after each other, as much
as we need strong finances and sustainable growth.
Government procurement plays a key role in this,” said
Stuart
Nash.
