Tāiki e! Next Gen is a rangatahi entrepreneurship club, which includes a weekly meetup, mentorship and a range of entrepreneurial activities. Dedicated to supporting rangatahi entrepreneurship, Tāiki E facilitates a pop-up shop where rangatahi aged 14-24 are provided rent-free shop space for 2-4 weeks to help establish their business.

Led by Cain Kerehoma, the rangatahi club grew as an offshoot of a community-based entrepreneurial space he started in 2019 called Taiki e!. For Kerehoma, entrepreneurship and innovation provide pathways to resilience for Māori.

“Being an isolated region in an isolated country, this gives us an opportunity to keep our people working here,” he says. And for those who have left to find work outside the region, it’s an opportunity to “bring them home,” he says.

As part of this, Tāiki E rangatahi utilised the Pou Herenga Tangata funding to launch an escape room business – a first for Te Tai Rāwhiti. The escape room concept came directly from feedback from rangatahi to generate revenue for the space but also provide a real live business model. The escape room successfully launched during NZ Youth Week in May 2022.