One year on from its launch the Aotearoa Centre for Enterprising Women (ACEW) is thrilled to announce a new 10-year partnership with Rise Global. Rise Global is a Māori owned and operated organisation which develops and implements indigenous-led development programmes for women and organisations globally with a particular focus in Aotearoa, Pacific Islands, Canada, Chile, Australia and USA.

Wāhine Māori Founder of Rise Global Rachel Petero (pictured above) was connected to Centre Director Chris Woods through Dr Kiri Dell, one of the co-Directors of ACEW. Following a presentation given by Rachel to undergraduate students in the INNOVENT 310 Women and Entrepreneurship course Chris and Rachel began a conversation about how they could continue working together.

“Our goal is to develop a 10-year strategic plan to look at ways we can work together in partnership and provide leadership and entrepreneurship education pathways. Signing this MOU is the start of this partnership. Rachel and her team are great to work with,” says Chris. “She has built an extensive global of network indigenous women, with a mission to ‘help indigenous women rise’”.

One of the first steps is a PhD Scholarship opportunity, focusing on wāhine Māori experiences in the entrepreneurial leadership and coaching space.

“Rise is excited to bring industry and indigenous worldviews to this partnership that support wāhine Māori pathways to entrepreneurial leadership,” says Rachel.

And in February 2024, Chris and others from the ACEW team will attend IWI ‘Indigenous Women in Industry.’ This is a week-long event being held in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, and Rotorua, and is designed to ensure that indigenous women’s voices are included in the world’s economic development conversation.