Amy Tepania has made a few changes to North Drift café in Ahipara including building up the café's presence on social marketing platforms. Photo / Supplied
Amy Tepania has made a few changes to North Drift café in Ahipara including building up the café's presence on social marketing platforms. Photo / Supplied
Northlanders are being encouraged to step up and "buy Māori" to help the local economic recovery effort in the wake of Covid-19.
Social media group Tautoko Te Tai Tokerau was set up following the nationwide lockdown to get people to shop, support and spend at local businesses and enterprises inthe region.
The group has grown to almost 4500 members who have come together to celebrate Māori innovation and creativity during difficult situations.
Administrator and social designer Kaye-Maree Dunn said supporting local economies to recover in Northland starts with supporting Māori businesses to help them survive.
"I think Māori businesses in this space will need to adapt to change and see if they have the ability to continue to trade or if they have to make a decision to wind up as they will need capital to get through," Dunn said.
"If they can pivot, then the focus is going to be on the local domestic market, hyper local approach."
Tautoko Te Tai Tokerau also shares inspirational stories and useful advice for small businesses, such as how to set an hourly rate, and understanding your customers and market.
The "buy local" message is particularly critical for the accommodation and food services sector, and with foreign tourism predicted to take a big hit this year.
Economic research company Infometrics predicts foreign tourism in New Zealand to drop by 91 per cent in 2020 because of Covid-19 related border restrictions.
Domestic tourism will also see a 21 per cent decline as New Zealand will see a wave of job losses which will impact on people's expendable income.
Senior economist Rob Heyes said nationally up to 40,000 Māori could lose their jobs between 2020 and 2022.
For Māori employed in the accommodation and food services sector, the outlook is particularly grim.
"We're forecasting almost 7000 Māori losing their jobs in accommodation and food services over the next couple of years," he said.
Wherever there is an economic recession, Māori tend to experience job losses to a greater degree than non-Māori.
"We put that down to the fact that Māori tend to be younger and have lower skilled jobs ... and it's those types of jobs that tend to be cut first."
North Drift café manager Amy Tepania (centre) and her café staff share a laugh after a couple of uncertain months. Photo / Supplied
North Drift café in Ahipara has made a few changes to business since it reopened in level 2.
Owner Amy Tepania said the predominantly Māori staff of seven have survived by accessing the Government's 12-week wage subsidy scheme, which has been extended for a further eight weeks.
Tepania also picked up additional income from registering on SOS Business, an online, non-for-profit initiative set up to help struggling businesses through the lockdown and beyond.
The website enables people to buy vouchers from their favourite local cafe or restaurant, which boosts their cashflow, then redeem them at a later date.
"I registered my business on there during level 4 and we did pretty good for not having a café open," Tepania said. "We sold quite a few vouchers."
Tepania said she has re-evaluated the direction of her seaside café and has concentrated on building up its presence on social marketing platforms.
She is also exploring other options, including offering gourmet pies and a takeaway meal service for whānau who want the convenience of eating hearty, nutritious food without having to cook it.
