Miraka, a majority Māori owned and operated milk processing company has won the inaugural Māori Excellence in Export award at the 2015 New Zealand International Business Awards in Auckland.
Te Tumu Paeroa: The new Māori Trustee is one of five major shareholders in Miraka and an enabler of economic solutions to mobilise Māori land. Head of Te Tumu Paeroa, Jamie Tuuta congratulates Miraka on their win.
“It’s great to be able celebrate the success of the Māori economy and be inspired by the passion and innovation of companies like Miraka. As Māori we have so much to offer and their win has cemented all of Māoridom as being a force to be reckoned with”, says Jamie.
Te Tumu Paeroa administers over 100,000 hectares of Māori land and its strategy aims to mobilise Māori land and landowners to consider agricultural opportunities to promote greater returns for them and their iwi.
Te Tumu Paeroa is one of the founding shareholders of Miraka and used their investment to support the new business in 2010.
“We understand that there must be a balance of sustainability and profitability. That our culture, and our values of community and guardianship will always compliment our financial return. It’s about finding a way to capture and express those unique Maori values into a business model that works and is successful”, says Jamie.
Miraka is the first company in the world to use renewable electricity and steam to run milk powder processing operations. It manufactures UHT milk products and milk powder and distributes its product to 23 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.
“The He kai kei aku ringa award is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Māori business success. I hope to see many more new and innovative Māori businesses be recognised for business excellence in the coming years,” says Jamie.
