Cultivating Indigenous Entrepreneurship
The Tolaga Evergreen Fund (also known as Tolaga.org) is catalysing meaningful economic and social change in Māori communities, supporting skilled workers to take the step to becoming proud business owners.
Founded by EHF Fellows Lily Stender (Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao) and Scott Miller (Iti Rearea), Tolaga.org is not just about providing financial support; it's about fostering self-determination, building trust, and creating sustainable pathways for long-term prosperity in Tolaga Bay and throughout Aotearoa.
Entrepreneurship as a Pathway
Raised as the second youngest of six children, Lily has been deeply influenced by her single-mother’s resilience and Māori values, learning the importance of communal responsibility from her teachings:
“[She] taught me that collective way of thinking, that intergenerational way of thinking, and how the system isn’t right for everyone. That it’s not easy when you’re born into a certain demographic; it’s sometimes harder for people, especially Māori, to get on the simple first rungs of the ladder.”
Her passion for supporting entrepreneurship stems from witnessing the struggles of her community in Tolaga Bay, including unemployment, low wages and limited job opportunities:
“Coming back to my homelands [from overseas], I realised the struggle that a lot of people were facing. We had lots of economic development reports for our region that highlighted the bad statistics that Māori face in terms of high-level poverty, high-levels of unemployment, low-skilled jobs; and so as a region, we had to come up with ideas about how we create a better economy for our communities … I’m a believer of self-determination, and that is done through entrepreneurship. A lot of our people have the skills in what they do, but need support and expertise to turn that into a form of revenue, and a business.”
Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Scott's entrepreneurial journey began in his childhood, cutting grass and painting houses. After university, he ventured into the technology sector, founding and selling several successful software businesses. His entrepreneurial background, combined with a passion for social impact, led him to collaborate with Lily on the Tolaga Evergreen Fund.
“I’m a huge believer that entrepreneurship can be a path to living a better life. Some people are wired to be an entrepreneur, but they’re prevented from getting into their own business. What we are doing with Tolaga.org is providing that pathway to entrepreneurship for people who didn’t really have a chance to be an entrepreneur in the past.”
A Shared Mission
Scott and Lily's collaboration began through their connection at EHF. Through their conversations, Scott gained a deeper understanding of Māori culture and the issues confronting the community. Inspired by Lily's vision and driven by a shared commitment to effecting meaningful change, they embarked on a journey to translate their ideas into action.
When Lily invited Scott to visit Tolaga Bay, he accepted, recognising the opportunity to immerse himself in the local community and gain firsthand insights. His visit proved transformative, allowing him to witness the warmth and resilience of the people of Tolaga Bay. Engaging directly with community members, Scott gained an appreciation for the importance of trust and relationship-building in Māori culture.
It was during this visit that the concept of the Tolaga Evergreen Fund began to take shape. Scott comments:
“We didn’t want to do grants. We wanted to do a loan, where there’s pride in paying back the money. And as our entrepreneurs pay back the money, they know that those payments are going towards supporting another entrepreneur. It’s about having pride in the business, in yourself, and knowing that you’re really building something, not just for yourself, not just for your whānau, but for the people at large; your whole iwi.”
A Nurturing Approach
The Tolaga Evergreen Fund provides pathways for indigenous entrepreneurship through a robust support system of seed loans, business training, and one-on-one mentoring. With a focus on service-based businesses that provide essential services, such as plumbing, concreting, cleaning, roofing, and grass cutting, Scott and Lily have implemented stringent selection criteria to ensure the success and sustainability of the businesses they support. Scott says:
“One of the fundamentals behind Tolaga.org is that we only work with service-based businesses. Services that humans are going to need for the next 50-100 years.”
Scott explains the criteria also requires people to be ‘skills-ready’, with a record of working in their trade/service area, as well as having the ambition of wanting to own their own business.
Lily adds:
“The one other criteria we focus on is supporting indigenous. Māori in particular at the moment. However, as we’re starting to advance our programme and Tolaga.org around the country, we’re also focusing on Pasifika; and with our American branch of the Fund, Guatemalans. So the focus is on indigenous peoples.”
The approach from Lily and her colleague Kuini when screening candidates further underscores Tolaga.org's commitment to nurturing indigenous entrepreneurship. She emphasises the importance of creating a relaxed and welcoming environment for applicants, often starting the conversation with a simple cup of tea to delve into applicants' backgrounds, understanding their whakapapa (genealogy), passions, and prior work experiences. This approach allows her to gauge not only their business ideas but also their readiness and likelihood of success. She says:
“The reason why it’s important for us to be present and to help process some of the applicants is because we understand the mindset, we can make them feel relaxed. Because we don’t want to set them up to fail.”
By prioritising a supportive and empathetic screening process, Tolaga.org nurtures entrepreneurs to ensure that each participant receives the guidance and resources needed to thrive, increasing their chances of success.
Wrap-Around Support
Tolaga.org goes beyond providing financial assistance, offering a comprehensive suite of localised support that is vital for the success of the businesses. Lily emphasises the significance of personal connection and ongoing support, highlighting the importance of regular check-ins, real conversations, and building trust to help entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of starting a business.
“It's those one-on- one conversations with them that creates that trust in us. I think it’s really crucial because that helps them from falling down and hiding away, because a lot of entrepreneurs are on their own and don’t have that support.”
Scott emphasises the holistic approach taken by Tolaga.org, particularly the importance of having the local support provided by Lily and Kuini:
“Of all the things we do, I think the local support is probably the most impactful. Think of what we do at Tolaga.org as interlocking pieces to a puzzle, and if we take one piece out, we probably will not be successful … A bank would never provide quarterly mentoring sessions from experienced entrepreneurs.”
Once a year, Scott also visits Aotearoa NZ to conduct a two-day intensive training programme on service business operations with the entrepreneurs. Despite generally low levels of business knowledge among new entrepreneurs, their high skill level makes the training highly impactful. By combining this training with other support services, such as mentoring and bookkeeping support, Tolaga.org provides entrepreneurs with a powerful toolkit to enhance their chances of success.
Generating Impact
Matt and Holli from The Projects NZ - Ōtepoti
Matt and Holli, a husband and wife team, are members of the second cohort of entrepreneurs supported by Tolaga.org. Their cleaning and maintenance business, The Projects NZ - Ōtepoti, has experienced significant growth, thanks to the financial assistance and mentorship provided by Tolaga.org. With the funding received, they were able to invest in essential tools and equipment, including a more suitable vehicle, enabling them to expand their range of services. Additionally, they revamped their branding with new uniforms and a redesigned logo, enhancing their professional image and marketing efforts. Matt and Holli comment:
“The mentoring has been invaluable. Our initial meeting with Scott and Lily really helped motivate us to continue to grow our business and work hard to keep helping the community. The continued support from Scott has really helped keep us accountable and ensure we’re on the right path.”
Before receiving support from Tolaga.org, Matt and Holli faced challenges related to direction and confidence in their business decisions. However, the guidance and encouragement they received empowered them to ask questions, explore new ideas, and connect with a supportive network of fellow entrepreneurs. This experience provided them with practical assistance and offered them a fresh perspective on their business journey.
The impact of Tolaga.org extends beyond mere financial success. It fosters a sense of community and empowerment among Māori entrepreneurs, with encouragement to pursue their business dreams and contribute to their communities. Lily says:
“It's not just about the bottom line. Some of the businesses that are operating don't yield a huge amount, some of them do, some of them are just making a weekly livelihood. Where the impact lies is within the whole community. Not only as locals providing services, it’s showing the children, the grandchildren, the nieces, the nephews that we can be entrepreneurs. They can say ‘’Yeah, my uncle’s doing that”- so it just becomes a natural thing; that owning your own business isn’t out of reach.”
To date, Tolaga.org has allocated a total of NZ$146,000 in seed loans, which have been instrumental in financing the initial asset purchases necessary for the startups, including: Westcoast Roofing, Keelan Solutions (offering farming, fencer general duties, and residential home services), The Projects NZ - Otepoti, JP’s Onboard (plastering), Clean with a Passion, Elite Blasters (exterior cleaning service), Izrael Aupouri Concreting, LC Solutions (off-grid living solutions), Yard Rescue, and CJ Milling. These 10 businesses supported by Tolaga.org have collectively achieved an impressive annual revenue run rate exceeding NZ$2.5 million. This growth demonstrates the effectiveness of Tolaga.org's financial support and highlights the potential of indigenous entrepreneurship to contribute significantly to the local economy.
Local Impact with Global Potential
While the primary focus remains on Aotearoa NZ, the model has potential for international application. The first expansion is in Cincinnati, supporting Guatemalan migrants.
“We’ve taken our whole programme, boxed it up, and we’re giving it to the people in the States who are helping the migrants. It’s quite exciting about how this can scale up and grow over time,” explains Scott.
However, the priority right now is deepening Tolaga.org’s impact in Aotearoa NZ, particularly in underserved regions.
“We’ve still got so much work to do in NZ. Right now we’ve got 10 [businesses that we support], and we really should have 500 or 1,000. That’s the number-one goal. It’s not about expanding all over the world. That’s not nearly as important as getting the penetration in this community, this iwi, that we have already here.”
Notably, Tolaga.org's reach has extended to Northland, thanks to the efforts of EHF Fellow Kaye Maree Dunn (Kawakawa). Lily elaborates on this development, stating:
"We’ve been working with Kaye Maree, who is supporting behind the scenes there, to duplicate Tolaga.org up North. It’s a work in progress, to develop this.”
The Tolaga Evergreen Fund is a testament to the power of targeted support in fostering indigenous entrepreneurship. By providing financial resources and a comprehensive support system, Tolaga.org has enabled Māori entrepreneurs to launch and grow successful businesses, contributing significantly to their communities and the broader economy. As Tolaga.org continues to evolve and expand, it holds the promise of creating even more opportunities for indigenous entrepreneurs, paving the way for a long-term prosperous future. The model also serves as a template for other indigenous communities around the world, and is an example of Fellows trialling innovative approaches which have global relevance.
Lily says:
“The model that we’re using works. We are an organisation that is on the ground, doing the grassroots, working one on one with our people. That overall wrap-around support is key - it works. And it creates the trust in us that is so key to ensuring the success of our entrepreneurs.”
