Auckland Unlimited and the Pacific Business Trust formalised their working relationship this week.
The two agencies will work towards a shared goal of supporting Pacific people and communities in Tāmaki Makaurau to have economic choice and live socially and economically prosperous lives.
Auckland Unlimited - Auckland’s economic and cultural agency - will work with the Pacific Business Trust to advise on economic matters and initiatives that benefit Pacific communities in Tāmaki Makaurau.
The agencies will also collaborate on building Pacific business and entrepreneur capability and performance; creating sustainable pathways to youth employment; social procurement and social enterprise; and innovation and tech.
Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive Nick Hill says the memorandum of understanding reinforces the ongoing work the agency does with the Pacific Business Trust, and acknowledges the important role Pacific people play in the social, cultural and economic landscape of Auckland.
Auckland’s ethnic and cultural diversity is one of the greatest assets we have in working towards an inclusive, prosperous and sustainable future for the region.
"Pacific Aucklanders are a predominantly young, urban, connected and creative talent pool that we need to enable and champion," says Nick Hill.
Pacific Business Trust Chief Executive Pelenato Sakalia says “Providing our Pacific communities quality and culturally appropriate support has never been more critical. Auckland has number of Pacific people who are impacted by existing inequalities, as well as shouldering additional caring and financial responsibilities for extended families. By collaborating with Auckland Unlimited, the Pacific Business Trust will be able to deliver even more comprehensive wraparound support services vital to the lift of our Pacific communities.”
Auckland Unlimited legacy organisation Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) started developing a Pacific work programme in 2018, the first regional economic development agency in New Zealand to do so.
It aimed to address that groups within Auckland’s Pacific communities were not sharing the prosperity and opportunity in the region, and the programme outlined a way for ATEED to play its part in lifting social wellbeing and economic prosperity.
Auckland Unlimited’s Pacific work programme includes delivering workplace-based training component for the Ministry of Business, Industry and Employment’s four-year Auckland Pacific Skills Shift Initiative; supporting TupuToa, the Māori and Pacific graduate internship programme and the Pacific Business Trust Awards; delivering the Pasifika Festival; participating in the Pasifika Festivals Initiative, overseen by Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Creative New Zealand and Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
Background
- Auckland’s Pacific population is now the third largest ethnic group in the region (Census 2018), projected to reach 17 per cent of the population in the next 20 years, and be one third of the working-age population by 2030.
- Auckland Unlimited is Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s economic and cultural agency, formed by a merger of Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development and Regional Facilities Auckland on 1 December 2020 with one vision: ‘Enriching cultural and economic life in Tāmaki Makaurau.’
- The Pacific Business Trust (PBT) is the nation’s Pacific economic development agency appointed by central government, has a diverse range of funders and delivers business-focused programmes as well as encouraging private sector collaborations.
- PBT recently reached its 35-year milestone enabling Pacific businesses to grow and thrive. It provides support and resources to Pacific businesses, organisations and sole traders within Aotearoa to improve capability and capacity, and fuel prosperity.