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Business Vision: A Maori Fund, A Tool For HR And An App That Cares

Kiwi companies are coming up with some innovative solutions. Brenda Ward showcases some that are working smarter to bring you business that inspires.

5 October 2021

Fund has Māori world view

A fund that uses indigenous Māori values to make investment decisions will soon open to retail investors.

TAHITO is the brainchild of experienced investment consultant Temuera Hall, partnering with Investment Services Group (ISG).

The fund started 18 months ago for professional investors and institutions. Now it’s opening to retail investors, through platforms like Sharesies and InvestNow, as well through the Select KiwiSaver Scheme.

Hall says the fund is believed to be the first indigenous investment fund in the world and that the timing is right for it.

“We’ve long believed that leveraging our indigenous wisdom for business could offer real benefits for all involved.”

Tahana Tippett, Business Development Manager at sister company Select Wealth Management, says TAHITO is about growing ‘aroha connection’ and developing the relationships between people and the environment.

“The Māori world view illustrates that all things are interrelated, nothing exists of itself – the sky, the land, the people, the stars, the ocean and emotions are all one,” he says. “TAHITO makes decisions with that in mind, to rebuild those connections and make the world a better place.” www.tahito.co.nz

Beat recruitment black holes

Have you ever been disappointed no one got back to you when you applied for a job? Did your CV just fall into a black hole?

If it did, there’s probably a good reason for that, says Chris South, CEO of ROI-AI.

“One recruiter will deal with as many as 10,000 candidates,” he says. Managing responses takes up a lot of time.

More efficient

So, the former recruiter joined with investors from the software and recruitment industries to set up a platform that helps recruiters work more efficiently.

ROI-AI automates key parts of the recruiter’s role, he says, sending reminders and emails. A recruiter’s best source of jobs is word of mouth, he says, so referrals can be ‘gamified’, rewarding people with points, so they earn rewards.

Chatbots also help people without tying up the recruiter.

“Know when a client opens a CV, or when someone you placed visits your job board.” https://roi-ai.com

A safe way to ask for help

When medical student Elizabeth Berryman was being bullied in a hospital, she had panic attacks and couldn’t see any way out of it. She decided to quit.

But the Dean of the Medical School pointed out that she was one of many in the medical profession heading to a toxic workplace every day. Says Berryman: “He told me: ‘I’m sick and tired of seeing our brightest students leave because of our environment that we’re putting people into. What shall we do about it?’.”

She said she’d like to do some research into it. With a small grant, she assembled a research group.

Talking to doctors and nurses

“I did interviews with doctors and nurses about their mental health and about their workplace settings and psycho-social risks.”

They told her they wanted an app to be able to report anonymously what was going on for them on the frontline. “I said, ‘An app? There are a million apps out there’.”

They said, yes, they wanted a safe channel to speak up. So, chnnl was created as an app gathering anonymous insights and data on staff mental health and wellbeing. Berryman’s now working on a fourth clinical trial.

She says since legislation changed in New Zealand in 2016, directors are now responsible for employee health and safety, so boards are taking it seriously.

The platform has identified many people who are depressed and at risk for suicide,

Berryman is looking for investors for chnnl’s second funding round, which opened on April 1.

www.chnnl.app

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