Te Mātāwai
Te Mātāwai is an independent New Zealand Crown entity that distributes government investment to Māori language revitalisation initiatives across eight regional Kāhui iwi clusters, conducts supporting research, and partners with agencies on te reo Māori public visibility programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersWellington, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Te Mātāwai does
Te Mātāwai is an independent New Zealand Crown entity established in 2016 under the Māori Language Act to lead te reo Māori revitalisation on behalf of iwi and Māori. It operates a community-driven investment and research model rather than a commercial product model: the organization receives government funding and redistributes it as investment support to grassroots language initiatives — kura reo (immersive language gatherings), wānanga reo, and reo Māori community classes — across eight regional Kāhui clusters (Te Tai Tokerau, Tainui, Mātaatua, Te Arawa, Te Tai Rāwhiti, Te Tai Hau-ā-uru, Te Waipounamu, and Te Reo Tukutuku), each with a Pae Motuhake board of te reo Māori champions who identify and recommend funding recipients. Its mandate is bifurcated under the Act: it leads Maihi Māori (the iwi/Māori language strategy) and advises on Maihi Karauna (the Crown's strategy). Te Mātāwai does not sell products or services; its 'pricing' is the disbursement of Crown investment to whānau, hapori, iwi, and Te Reo Tukutuku organizations that apply through annual investment rounds. Demand materially exceeds supply — 75% of kaupapa miss out on funding.
The organization's portfolio comprises five service categories: the Haumitanga investment programme; Rangahau research (e.g., studies on te reo trauma, intergenerational transmission, iwi dialect preservation, speaker forecasting to 2040, and investment programme evaluation); media products including the Te Māturu bilingual podcast, the Takahia tō Ara video series, and the quarterly Wairere e-Pānui newsletter; and strategic partnerships, most notably the 2023 He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signage programme with Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency), supported by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Te Manatū Waka, which deploys te reo Māori on state highway and local road signs through a Pae Whakamāori expert translation panel. Internal capability includes language planning tools and resources for whānau to develop Mōori language households, and a corporate footprint anchored at Level 4, 139 Featherston Street, Te Whare Māori, Wellington.
Te Mātāwai scaled operational capacity from 4 to 38 full-time staff (including 9 FTE in Pae Motuhake regional roles) between 2020 and 2024 under former Chief Executive Poia Rewi. The organization is governed by a 13-member Board — 7 appointed by Kāhui ā-rohe o ngā iwi, 4 by Te Reo Tukutuku organizations, and 2 by the Minister of Māori Development — which underwent substantial refreshment in 2025 with new Co-Chairs Brenda Soutar and Mātai Smith and additional appointments. Toko Kapea was appointed Acting Tumu Whakarae Kairīwhi (Acting CE) in December 2025. The organization has no subsidiaries, no private or public equity ownership, no disclosed revenue figures, and no commercial product lines; its entire operating model is structured around the public mandate to redistribute Crown appropriations through iwi-led community structures.
Te Mātāwai firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Te Mātāwai
- Legal name
- Te Mātāwai
- Website
- https://tematawai.maori.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Te Mātāwai is an independent New Zealand Crown entity that distributes government investment to Māori language revitalisation initiatives across eight regional Kāhui iwi clusters, conducts supporting research, and partners with agencies on te reo Māori public visibility programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Te Mātāwai industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Indigenous Language Revitalisation Services
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Educational Support Services (611710), American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Governments (92115)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations (BPAGAHAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Heritage Language & Bilingual Maintenance Programs (EDAMAFAI), Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions (THAJADAK)
Keywords
Where Te Mātāwai is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wellington
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Te Mātāwai business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Crown/Government funding: Te Mātāwai receives government funding to distribute as investment support for Māori language revitalization initiatives. The organization allocates funding to kura reo, wānanga reo, community programs, and other language initiatives.
- Investment disbursements: Distributes funds to approximately 385 reo Māori classes including kura reo, wānanga reo, and karaehe reo in 2023/24
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Te Mātāwai product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Te Mātāwai is an independent Crown entity that distributes government investment funding to iwi, hapū, whānau and community organisations to support te reo Māori revitalisation across homes, communities and iwi. It also conducts research on language revitalisation, supports regional language planning, and produces media resources including a podcast, video series, and quarterly newsletter. Delivery is organised through eight regional Kāhui clusters with Pae Motuhake boards of te reo Māori champions.
Product overview
Te Mātāwai is an independent organization focused on Māori language revitalization, operating as a community-driven investment and research entity rather than a technology product company. The organization provides investment programs for language initiatives, conducts research on te reo Māori, supports regional communities (Kāhui) through Pae Motuhake representatives, and offers media resources including podcasts, video content, and event coordination. The organization's offerings are primarily service-oriented (grant programs, research reports, community support) rather than technology products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Haumitanga (Investment Programme) Crown-funded investment programme that provides financial support to iwi, hapū, whānau and community organisations for te reo Māori revitalisation initiatives, including kura reo, wānanga reo and community language programmes distributed through eight regional Kāhui clusters.
- Rangahau (Research) Research reports and insights on te reo Māori revitalisation, including studies on te reo trauma, intergenerational transmission, language planning, iwi dialect preservation, and investment programme evaluation.
Quantifiable outcome
- 61 kura reo supported in 2023/24 (110% increase from 29 in 2022/23)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Te Mātāwai
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Te Mātāwai technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Te Mātāwai partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Whakaata Māori (Māori Television)minorTe Mātāwai appoints board members to Whakaata Māori Board, including three new members in 2025.
- Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency)corePartnership to implement the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme, enabling te reo Māori on traffic signs across Aotearoa. Waka Kotahi leads the transport infrastructure implementation while Te Mātāwai provides Māori language expertise and community engagement through regional boards.
- Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission)coreSupports the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme, providing language standards and terminology guidance.
- Te Manatū Waka (Ministry of Transport)coreSupports the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme at a policy level.
- Te Puni KōkiricoreJoint participation in Indigenous to Indigenous international engagement, including Taiwan delegation to celebrate ANZTEC Agreement 10-year anniversary. Te Puni Kōkiri led the official delegation.
- Council of Indigenous Peoples (Taiwan)minorHost organization for Indigenous to Indigenous hui in Taiwan, working on revitalization of 16 different Indigenous languages.
- NZ Māori TourismminorPart of the Indigenous to Indigenous delegation to Taiwan representing Māori tourism interests.
- Independent Māori Statutory BoardminorPart of the Indigenous to Indigenous delegation to Taiwan.
- GNS ScienceminorPart of the Indigenous to Indigenous delegation to Taiwan.
- Pae WhakamāoricorePanel of te reo Māori experts established to consider and propose translations for bilingual traffic signs, ensuring consistency of terminology and community safety.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Te Mātāwai competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Creative New Zealand (Creative NZ / Ihirangi): Crown entity that invests in New Zealand arts, language, and culture through community grants and national programs. Operates a similar investment-disbursement model and is structurally comparable in how it channels public funds into cultural initiatives, including Māori and Pasifika language and arts projects.
- Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission): Statutory Crown counterpart to Te Mātāwai under the Māori Language Act, with responsibility for the Maihi Karauna (Crown language strategy), terminology standards, and language policy advocacy. Operates in the same language revitalization space but with a government-side mandate rather than an iwi-side mandate.
- Aboriginal Languages Trust (NSW): New South Wales statutory body that supports revitalization of Aboriginal languages through community grants, partnerships, and strategy. Highly comparable in mandate (indigenous language revitalization), funding-distribution model, and statutory positioning within a state-level cultural policy framework.
- First Languages Australia: National peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language revitalization in Australia. Comparable in mission (community-led indigenous language revitalization), federal/national scope, and convening role across regional language organizations.
Broad incumbents
- Welsh Language Commissioner (Comisiynydd y Gymraeg): Independent statutory body in Wales promoting and facilitating use of the Welsh language, with regulatory and advisory powers analogous to those exercised by Te Mātāwai and Te Taura Whiri jointly. Comparable in its role as a dedicated language-rights and revitalization institution backed by legislation.
- Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand): Crown entity operating the national museum with significant Māori cultural and language programming. Shares the Crown-funded, mandate-driven operating model and contributes to public visibility of te reo Māori, though focused on cultural display rather than community investment.
- Whakaata Māori (Māori Television Service): Crown-funded broadcaster mandated to promote te reo Māori and Māori culture. Te Mātāwai currently appoints board members to Whakaata Māori, indicating a structured relationship; both are Crown entities advancing te reo Māori but through media rather than community investment.
- Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development): Crown ministry with a broader remit covering Māori economic, social, cultural, and language policy. Provides government oversight of Crown entities including Te Mātāwai and funds related programs; comparable in its Crown funding distribution role but with a much wider portfolio beyond language.
Emerging players
- Te Mātāwai o Ngāti Awa / Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa: One of the iwi-level Te Reo Tukutuku-adjacent partners and Pae Motuhake stakeholders. Representative of the regional iwi entities that Te Mātāwai funds and supports; useful for understanding the on-the-ground recipients and bottom-up implementation layer.
- Endangered Language Fund: US-based nonprofit that provides grants to community-driven indigenous language documentation and revitalization projects. Smaller and grant-focused rather than statutory, but highly comparable in operating model: small staff distributing funds to community-led language initiatives.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Te Mātāwai social profiles
Digital presenceTe Mātāwai financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Te Mātāwai leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Te Mātāwai funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Te Mātāwai M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Te Mātāwai
What does Te Mātāwai do?
Te Mātāwai is an independent Crown entity that distributes government investment funding to iwi, hapū, whānau and community organisations to support te reo Māori revitalisation across homes, communities and iwi. It also conducts research on language revitalisation, supports regional language planning, and produces media resources including a podcast, video series, and quarterly newsletter. Delivery is organised through eight regional Kāhui clusters with Pae Motuhake boards of te reo Māori champions.
Is Te Mātāwai a public or private company?
Te Mātāwai is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Te Mātāwai founded?
Te Mātāwai was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Te Mātāwai based?
Te Mātāwai is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Te Mātāwai make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Crown/Government funding is the primary driver. The others are investment disbursements.
Who are Te Mātāwai's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Creative New Zealand (Creative NZ / Ihirangi), Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), Aboriginal Languages Trust (NSW) and First Languages Australia. Broad incumbents are Welsh Language Commissioner (Comisiynydd y Gymraeg), Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand), Whakaata Māori (Māori Television Service) and Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development). Emerging players are Te Mātāwai o Ngāti Awa / Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and Endangered Language Fund.
Does Te Mātāwai have an API?
No public API is recorded for Te Mātāwai.
What industry is Te Mātāwai in?
Te Mātāwai's product category is Indigenous Language Revitalisation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAI, Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations, with a secondary code of EDAMAFAI, Heritage Language & Bilingual Maintenance Programs. Its NAICS code is 712 and its SIC code is 8300.