Recognition of Power of the Indigenous Economy

Monday, 10 October 2016

RECOGNITION OF POWER OF THE INDIGENOUS ECONOMY

Maori-owned technology company Kiwa Digital’s work with indigenous groups has been recognised with the announcement it is a finalist in the New Zealand International Business Awards 2016 , in the category Hei kai ke aku ringa for Māori Excellence in Export.

In welcoming the announcement, Kiwa Digital CEO Steven Renata says the category recognises that being a Māori business opens doors in the increasingly powerful global indigenous economy.

Kiwa Digital’s clients include the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation of Languages and Haida First Nation, and it is doing work in Alaska on language projects. The company also works with the Ministry of Education, developing interactive digital books for Māori students, and with government and business organisations on the co-development of Cultural Intelligence apps that bring Te Ao Māori into the workplace in a fun, helpful way.

Renata says the company differentiates itself as Māori through its vision, approach and the contribution it makes.

“Our vision is to build a global technology business that brings content to life across languages and cultures, respecting the cultural aspirations of the peoples we work with and helping them assert their own ways of understanding the world. “ says Renata.

“This vision has been at the heart of the company since it was established in 2003 to meet the need for quality dubbing of children’s television into te Reo Māori. It is now central to business strategy and a point of differentiation in the international marketplace, whether the company is working with a health board in New Zealand, a dubbing studio in South Africa, a Canadian film company, or a remote Alaskan community.”

The announcement comes on top of a big month for the company, with the North American announcement of an animated pilot for the co-production Mythical Creatures, a comic book fantasy inspired by the mythology of Māori and Haida First Nation.

ABOUT

The New Zealand International Business Awards 2016

The New Zealand International Business Awards are run by the government’s business development agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), and celebrate the success of New Zealand businesses on the world stage. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the prestigious awards.

Kiwa Digital Ltd

Since launching 13 years ago Kiwa Digital has grown to become the world’s leading production house for experiential digital books, and a market leader in systemised software for post-production.

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