Shama Ethnic Women's Trust

What Shama Ethnic Women's Trust does

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust founded in 2002 and headquartered in Hamilton, Waikato, that delivers culturally responsive social services to ethnic and migrant women, their children and families. The organisation operates two physical drop-in centres in Hamilton (8 Liverpool Street) and Tauranga (365 Cameron Road) and extends a National Sexual Violence Response nationwide via phone, email and WhatsApp, supported by ACC Sensitive Claims-accredited therapists. Its service portfolio spans crisis intervention and counselling, social work and safety planning, men's behaviour change programmes (PACT and Te Huringa Ō Te Ao), and a suite of community, youth, parenting and prevention programmes (SuperSHEro, Life Skills Classes, Youth Explore, Children's Holiday Programme, Connections101 Healthy Relationships, Cross-Cultural Parenting, Violence Prevention). Alongside service delivery, Shama produces research — including a 2026 Family Court report and the 'Thriving and Ageing Well' ageing report — and trains external professionals through a Cultural Safety Training workshop that has reached over 800 practitioners across 17 cities since 2019.

The trust's revenue is assembled from a portfolio of government, philanthropic and community sources rather than a single commercial stream. Core programme funding comes from the Ministry of Ethnic Communities (SuperSHEro), with project funding from foundations including the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation and trusts such as WEL Energy Trust; ACC Sensitive Claims underwrites the national sexual harm counselling service. Marginal commercial income is generated through meeting room hire ($40+GST/hr for non-profits, $60+GST/hr for government and private sector) and Life Skills Classes priced at $5 per term, while public donations are collected via the Givealittle platform. Customers are not transacting buyers but service users: ethnic women and families experiencing family or sexual violence (primary segment), ethnic young people and children, ethnic men seeking behaviour change, ethnic community groups and leaders, and health/social service professionals receiving cultural safety training. Reach to clients runs through self-referral, walk-in drop-ins, and a referral network that includes the Integrated Safety Response, Women's Refuge, Work and Income NZ, District Health Boards and Community Advice Bureaus, supplemented by a media presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, the shama.org.nz website, email newsletters, the 'Encouraging Conversations' podcast on Spotify and PlanetFM, and a community radio partnership with Free FM.

Operationally, the trust is small — 17 employees — and lean, with strategic leadership from Strategic Manager Silvana Erenchun Perez. Its underlying technology is described as a social service delivery platform with no proprietary technology stack, AI capabilities, APIs or apps disclosed; multilingual reach (54 prevention videos in 18 languages) is achieved through human delivery rather than automated translation. Governance is autonomous: Shama is an independent nonprofit trust with no parent entity, and its activities span Waikato and Bay of Plenty regionally with selected national programmes.

Name

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust

Legal name

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust

Website

https://shama.org.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust is a New Zealand charitable trust that delivers culturally responsive social services, crisis counselling, men's behaviour change programmes and prevention training to ethnic and migrant women, their families and communities across Waikato, Bay of Plenty and nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services (Family & Sexual Violence Response)

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Family violence support
• Ethnic women's services
• Sexual violence response
• Culturally safe practice
• Community social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding and Grants: Core funding from government agencies including Ministry of Ethnic Communities for specific programmes like SuperSHEro, and other national/regional government bodies for social service delivery.
2. Foundation Grants: Project-specific funding from foundations such as Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation for research initiatives.
3. Trust Funding: Research funding from energy trusts such as WEL Energy Trust for specific research projects on ageing and wellbeing.
4. Donations: Financial contributions from the public through Givealittle platform and direct bank transfers.
5. Meeting Room Hire: Rental revenue from hiring meeting rooms to community groups ($40+GST/hour for non-profits) and government/private sector ($60+GST/hour).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust is a registered charitable trust that provides free, culturally responsive social services for ethnic women, their children and families in New Zealand. Its services span national sexual violence response, regional family violence response, social work support, a men's behaviour-change programme (PACT), life-skills and parenting classes, youth and children's holiday programmes, cultural safety training, and an ACC Sensitive Claims support service.

Product overview

Shama Ethnic Women's Trust operates as a social service organization offering a portfolio of integrated programmes and services rather than a single product. The core offerings include National Sexual Violence Response (crisis support and ACC counselling), Regional Family Violence Response (social work, PACT men's programme, safety planning), and community programmes (Life Skills Classes, SuperSHEro, Entrepreneur Programme). Youth and family services include Youth Explore, Children's Holiday Programme, and Connections101. Prevention work spans Violence Prevention, Cross-Cultural Parenting, and Cultural Safety Training. These services work together to provide comprehensive support from crisis intervention through to prevention and community empowerment, with programmes available regionally in Hamilton and Tauranga and several offered nationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SuperSHEro: Wellbeing and empowerment programme for ethnic women featuring interactive Saturday workshops on topics like confidence, financial wellbeing, health, leadership, and self-care
• PACT
• Te Huringa ō Te Ao

Products and services

• National Sexual Violence Response Nationwide service responding to sexual violence for ethnic women and their families in New Zealand.
• Regional Family Violence Response Regional response service addressing family violence affecting ethnic women and families across the Hamilton/Tauranga regions.
• Social Work Support Direct social work casework and support for ethnic women and families.
• PACT Men's Programme A men's behaviour-change programme addressing family violence, offered to men referred through Shama's family violence response work.
• Life Skills Classes Group-based life-skills education for ethnic women covering wellbeing and independent-living skills.
• SuperSHEro Empowerment programme for ethnic women, focused on building confidence and self-efficacy.
• Entrepreneur Programme Programme supporting ethnic women to develop entrepreneurship and economic empowerment skills.
• Youth Explore Youth programme supporting young people from ethnic communities.
• Children's Holiday Programme Holiday-period programme providing activities and supervision for children of ethnic families.
• Cross-Cultural Parenting Parenting education and support tailored for parents from ethnic backgrounds raising children in New Zealand.
• Connections101 Group-based orientation/connection programme for ethnic women and families new to New Zealand or new to services.
• Cultural Safety Training Training delivered to other organisations and practitioners on cultural safety when working with ethnic communities.
• Connections Hui Cultural hui (gatherings) supporting connection among ethnic women and their families.
• ACC Sensitive Claims Service Support for ACC Sensitive Claims lodged by sexual violence survivors, delivered in culturally responsive ways for ethnic women.
• Te Huringa ō Te Ao Māori-medium/culturally grounded programme name in te reo Māori, supporting cultural transition and identity (specific programme description not detailed in source).
• Violence Prevention Primary prevention activities aimed at preventing family and sexual violence within ethnic communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 800 professionals trained in Cultural Safety Training across 17 cities since 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Free FMminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with community radio station Free FM to produce and broadcast the 'Encouraging Conversations: Preventing Sexual Violence in Ethnic Communities' podcast.
• Integrated Safety ResponsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for social work support services. Integrated Safety Response is a government initiative connecting families with social services.
• Various Ethnic Community GroupscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with ethnic community groups nationwide (Burundian Association, De Mujer a Mujer, Women2Women Christchurch, Yasmina Mums Group, Multicultural Waitaki, and 17+ others) for community-led violence prevention projects including workshops, videos, podcasts, murals, and educational resources in multiple languages.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inner City Women's Group (ICWG): Auckland-based social services for women experiencing poverty, violence, and immigration challenges. Direct peer: comparable drop-in service model, social work support, and orientation to migrant, refugee, and ethnic women facing family violence.
• Migrant Action Trust: Wellington-based NGO providing social services, advocacy, and family violence support for migrant and refugee women. Direct peer: similar migrant women focus and family violence case work, with overlapping referral pathways and government contracts.
• ChangeMakers Refugee Forum: NZ refugee and migrant women's advocacy and support organisation. Direct peer: serves the same migrant/refugee women population, with overlapping focus on family violence, social isolation, and culturally responsive services.
• Women's Refuge New Zealand: Largest NZ family violence service network operating shelters and crisis lines nationwide. Direct peer: Shama offers culturally-specific family violence response where Women's Refuge is generalist, but both serve the same women in crisis and compete for similar government and community funding.
• Shakti Community Council: NZ organisation supporting migrant, refugee, and ethnic women affected by family violence, with a specific focus on Asian, African, and Middle Eastern communities. Direct peer: very similar mission and target population as Shama, with overlapping service lines and funder relationships.
• Shine (Safer Homes in NZ Every day): NZ family violence prevention NGO delivering helpline, education, and workforce training. Direct peer: comparable training and prevention portfolio, including professional capability building, and competes for similar ACC and Ministry of Justice funding streams.
• Auckland Women's Centre: Long-established Auckland-based social services organisation providing crisis support, counselling, and community programmes for women. Direct peer: similar drop-in centre model, life skills classes, and family violence support; serves a broader but overlapping population.

Others

• Multicultural New Zealand: National umbrella body representing ethnic and migrant community organisations across Aotearoa. Adjacent: not a direct service provider but acts as a coordinator and advocate for ethnic communities, often channelling funding and policy influence to frontline organisations like Shama.
• English Language Partners NZ: nationwide NZ organisation providing English language tuition and settlement support for migrants and refugees. Adjacent: serves the same migrant, refugee, and ethnic populations through an enabling service rather than direct family violence intervention, but works within the same referral ecosystem.
• Refugee Council of New Zealand: National peak body for refugee-background communities in NZ, providing advocacy, policy advice, and community development. Adjacent: not a direct service provider but partner in the same refugee-support ecosystem, with overlapping interest in settlement, family violence prevention, and government funding coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ShamaEthnicWomensTrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shamaethnic
• Instagraminstagram.com/shamaethnicwomenstrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shama Ethnic Women's Trust