Indigenous Business Wisdom and Regenerative Practices

In this episode, host Chris Marquis explores regenerative business practices with two inspiring leaders - Heidi Renata, co-founder of Innovate HQ and Māori entrepreneur, and Lisa Ferguson from The Nature Conservancy. Both guests emphasise that regenerative practices aren't new concepts—they're ancient wisdom being reapplied to modern challenges. Key themes include the importance of building trust, moving at the "speed of trust" rather than quarterly timelines, and recognising that true leadership means bringing others with you rather than controlling from above.

te ao - Māori world/worldview

curious wahine-preneur - this is more of a playful made up word versus a real one, which simply means, woman entrepreneur

Ōtepoti – Dunedin, NZ

marae – (verb) to be generous, hospitable, (noun) courtyard - the open area in front of the wharenui, where formal greetings and discussions take place. Often also used to include the complex of buildings around the marae.

whānau – (verb) to be born, give birth, (noun) extended family, family group, a familiar term to address a number of people – the primary economic unit of traditional Māori society

Manaakitanga – hospitality, kindness, generosity, support – the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.

Kotahitanga – unity, togetherness and solidarity, collective action

Whanaungatanga - relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

Tikanga – customs, practices and procedures i.e. the right way of doing things according to Maori values and traditions

Mātauranga – knowledge, understanding and wisdom

whakapha ngaungatanga - building authentic relationships rooted in genealogy and lineage

mokopuna's mokopuna - our children and our grandchildren's experiences

Mātauranga Māori – a Māori practice, much like a living operating system, which is holistic, adaptive, and respects relationships. Maori knowledge and ways of knowing

Tauiwi - non-Maori entities

whenua – primarily means land or earth i.e. the land that sustains life.

wairau – spirit, soul or essence of a person or thing

Te Tiriti – the Treaty”, specifically Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). Te Tiriti - New Zealand’s founding document, was meant to be a partnership between Māori and the British Crown. Although it was intended to create unity, different understandings of the treaty, and breaches of it, have caused conflict. From the 1970s the general public gradually came to know more about the treaty, and efforts to honour the treaty and its principles expanded.

te reo Māori - Māori language

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