We are committed to
Igniting Māori Innovation
from Aotearoa New Zealand’s publicly-funded research institutions through Māori-led guidance, evaluation, and connection to pre-seed investment.
Māori knowledge and innovation in these institutions is frequently perceived as niche or specialist, rather than being recognised as valuable, scalable, and broadly relevant.
This misconception results in underinvestment and limited engagement.
We exist to change that.
Te Kōara's Story Thus Far…
Te Tīmatanga
Drawing on experience leading the Return On Science and Momentum Programmes, Tori McNoe embarked on a haerenga to explore the links between research commercialisation and Māori innovation; which was supported by the wider ecosystem but persistently under-resourced. Tori’s research identified the key building blocks needed for a robust Māori-led commercialisation programme - one designed to be piloted, adapted, and refined directly in response to the needs of Māori innovation.
Late 2022
The First Hui
Across Aotearoa’s publicly-funded tertiary institutions, research and innovation shone; tauiwi trod the glittering paths, gathering the fruits of a sprawling $500 million research commercialisation ecosystem. Yet, for our whānau Māori in these institutions - more than 130,000 of us - each one a flicker of brilliance in our tertiary whare - some doors remained resolutely closed.
Latent potential stirred among us. Individuals began dreaming of a kaupapa for Māori commercialisation; some across our partner programmes in The Lighthouse, some within the commercialisation ecosystem, some researching in their own right. In the shared epiphany of all of these dreamers, Te Kōara came to be.
We gathered whānau Māori from every far-flung rohe - innovators, tech navigators, academia, iwi leaders, financiers, and technology transfer. Around tables and over cups of tea, we spoke of opportunity, mana motuhake, and the right to impact the future in research, innovation and commerce.
Late 2023
Early 2024
Gathering the Threads
We wrote our Terms of Reference; and we reached out to kaupapa Māori projects across the motu, seeking those who were ready to walk with us, to build systems that reflected our values and ambitions.
Late 2024/Early 2025
Opening the Whare
By year’s end, we made the decision to open the doors wide - so that all Māori might step into this space of potentia. This way we would quickly understand the wider pipeline. As the kaupapa matured, our rōpū gained clarity and focus and decreased in size in response.
Early/Mid 2025:
Forming Identity
Our purpose clear: we found a name, a tohu, and a voice. Te Kōara emerged: a symbol and a beacon for whānau seeking clarity in an uncertain landscape. Our kaupapa became a compass, clearly directing each idea and its navigator toward their next beacon.
Later 2025
Defining Impact
Travelling from Te Tairāwhiti to Ōtakou, our efforts stretched across all sectors of innovation. We stood alongside kaupapa, but realised that to truly impact every community, we would need to act with even more precision.
We circled back to empower those closest to us - whānau in science, research, and innovation spaces. Here, we could gather resources, nurture talent, and lean into our well-known, established resources to propel us forward.
Today
Purpose Embodied
Now,our foundation is firm: to ignite Māori innovation by connecting researchers, students, and hāpori Māori with genuine guidance, awhi, investment and support. Our mahi transforms Māori-led ideas into opportunities that ripple outward - strengthening whānau, growing capability, restoring balance, and bringing the unique Aotearoa innovation potency to our ecosystem.
For Māori, the pathway through research and entrepreneurship
is yet to unfold.
Te Kōara is not a map we follow - it is a map we are drawing together.
With every hui, every idea, every act of courage, we inscribe our lines on the whenua of innovation that have gone unchartered - guided by the wisdom of our tūpuna and the dreams of our mokopuna yet to come.