And just like that, another year of Tupu has come to a close. This year, we welcomed 21 founders across 10 pakihi, building ambitious ventures spanning technology, health, education, agritech, sustainability, AI, wellness and more. Over eight intensive weeks, our 2026 purapura challenged assumptions, tested markets, strengthened their business models, built commercial capability and prepared their pakihi for investment and growth. That journey culminated at [...]

Māori entrepreneurs are behind some of New Zealand's most innovative companies, from fintech firm BlinkPay to fusion energy startup OpenStar. But those behind the Tupu Accelerator say creating the next generation of high-growth Māori businesses will require backing founders much earlier in their journey.

Demand for Tapuwae Roa's Tupu Accelerator keeps climbing, with a new cohort of ten high-growth Māori-founded ventures welcomed for the programme's third consecutive year. From a digital health platform for people living with IBS to an on-farm unit that turns waste milk into feed-grade powder, the ten start-ups making up the 2026 Tupu Accelerator cohort show the breadth of Māori innovation now scaling out of [...]

Tapuwae Roa has again welcomed 10 Māori-founded startups into its Tupu Accelerator, marking the third consecutive year of the eight-week programme supporting high-growth enterprises with global ambitions. The 2026 cohort was formally welcomed last week at a mihi whakatau hosted at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, attended by representatives from Aotearoa’s venture capital, investment, government, and innovation sectors.