14/09/2026
On Saturday the 5th September Otago had the privilege of competing at the 2026 Māori and Pasifika Indigenous Business Case Competition; hosted by Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka and Victoria Business Consulting.
Our teams were focused on helping Te Matarau a Māui; the Māori economic development agency for Te Upoko o te Ika, on their Digital Gateway to providers and support services. Designing a front door for Māori and Pasifika businesses in Pōneke.
The case was based on materials prepared by Dr Jesse Pirini, Associate Dean, Victoria University of Wellington. Who also judged the competition alongside Josh Robati-Busby, Business Analyst and Consultant at Deloitte.
Out of our 9 students competing, 8 had never done a case competition before. We are super proud of how courageous our students were in taking their opportunity to step out of their comfort zone. Well done to:
Evis Takubala, George Warren, Hayden French, Lucas Adnitt, Sala Kunatuba, Suzanne Gataurua, Toby Sheridan & Tyra Leitupo.
A special thank you to coach Lachlan Williams, and coach/competitor James Bennett for bringing their seasoned experience to the cohort. Running workshops and trainings in the lead up to the competition, and providing supportive guidance throughout the trip.
Congratulations to Otago University for securing the First Place victory and to the University of Auckland for coming runners up in such a prestigous and intense competition. Importantly ngā mihi to all the students who competed, everyone should be proud of all their mahi.
Ngā mihi to the staff who supported our tauira and organised the trip as well:
Katharina Ruckstuhl
Antonio Seiuli
Esmay Lemalu-Eteuati
Katrina Nicol
Ngā mihi to Sergio Biggemann and Nataliya Podgorodnichenko for their continued support with our case comp teams.
