Economic Development
Pacific economic development is the work of strengthening the conditions that allow Māori and Pacific businesses, entrepreneurs and communities to participate fully in the economy of Aotearoa New Zealand.
It spans business growth, economic opportunity, workforce participation, and the leadership and partnerships that connect Māori and Pacific enterprise to the wider economy. Mary Los'e has contributed to this ecosystem through executive leadership, support for entrepreneurs, partnership-building, governance and public engagement. Her involvement is best understood not as the work of a single organisation but as a sustained contribution to the broader environment in which Māori and Pacific businesses operate and grow.
This page sets out the ecosystem of Māori and Pacific economic development, the way entrepreneurship and partnerships support it, and the role leadership plays in creating economic opportunity for Māori and Pacific communities across New Zealand.
Māori and Pacific Economic Development Matters
Māori and Pacific communities make a significant and growing contribution to New Zealand's economy. Māori and Pacific-owned businesses operate across many sectors, and Māori and Pacific workers form an important part of the country's workforce. Supporting the development of this part of the economy strengthens not only Māori and Pacific communities but the wider national economy they help to build.
Economic participation is central to this. When Māori and Pacific entrepreneurs can access the capital, networks and capability they need, and when Māori and Pacific workers can access education, training and opportunity, the result is broader and more resilient economic growth. Innovation is part of the picture too: Māori and Pacific businesses bring distinctive perspectives, products and approaches to the market.
Workforce development underpins long-term prosperity. Building skills, pathways and leadership within Māori and Pacific communities helps ensure that economic participation deepens over time. Understood this way, Māori and Pacific economic development is an investment in shared prosperity and in the future of the New Zealand economy as a whole.
Māori and Supporting Pacific Entrepreneurs
Māori and Pacific entrepreneurs are central to economic development, and the ecosystem around them determines how well they can start, sustain and grow their businesses. Mary Los'e's contribution in this area has focused on strengthening that ecosystem rather than on individual outcomes.
Support for entrepreneurs takes several forms. Mentoring helps founders navigate the practical challenges of building a business and learn from those who have done it before. Business capability building, including support with planning, finance and operations, helps enterprises move from early stages toward sustainability. Access to networks connects Pacific entrepreneurs to customers, partners, funders and peers, opening doors that can be difficult to reach without an introduction.
Leadership development sits alongside these. Growing the next generation of Māori and Pacific business leaders strengthens the ecosystem over time, creating mentors, role models and connectors who in turn support others.
Building Partnerships for Growth
Economic development depends on collaboration. No single organisation can build a thriving business ecosystem on its own, and partnerships across business, government and community are what turn shared ambition into practical opportunity.
Partnerships of this kind can take many forms. Collaboration with chambers of commerce and business networks connects Māori and Pacific enterprises to established business communities. Industry partnerships link Pacific businesses to specific sectors and supply chains, creating routes to market and to growth. Cross-sector collaboration brings together government, business and community organisations around common economic goals.
Mary Los'e's approach to economic development reflects this collaborative model. Her work has consistently emphasised building the relationships and partnerships through which business networks, economic growth and opportunity are created.
Leadership & Economic Opportunity
Leadership and economic development are closely connected. Creating economic opportunity for Māori and Pacific communities requires more than individual effort; it requires leaders who can see how the parts of the system fit together and who can work across them.
Mary Los'e approaches economic development with systems thinking. Entrepreneurship, community prosperity and innovation are not separate goals but interdependent parts of a single ecosystem. Supporting entrepreneurs strengthens communities; thriving communities create the conditions for further enterprise; and innovation emerges where capability, networks and opportunity meet.
This systems perspective shapes how Mary contributes. Rather than focusing on isolated initiatives, her work is oriented toward the structural conditions that allow opportunity to grow and to be sustained.
Public Engagement & Conversations
Mary Los'e takes an active part in sector conversations on Pacific economic development, contributing as a participant in the wider dialogue. Recent and relevant engagement includes:
- Auckland Pacific Economic Insights 2025
- Auckland Pacific Economic Insights Series 2024
- PMN business commentary
- Relevant conference participation
Across these forums, Mary's contribution adds cross-sector experience and an ecosystem perspective to discussions about Pacific business and economic opportunity.
Pacific Business Insights
Pacific economic development is a dynamic and evolving area, and informed commentary helps build shared understanding of where opportunity lies. Mary Los’e contributes to these conversations through public engagement and commentary on Pacific business and economic development.
Recurring themes include Pacific business growth and the factors that help enterprises scale; emerging opportunities across sectors; entrepreneurship trends shaping how Pacific founders build their businesses; and workforce development as a foundation for long-term participation.
These themes feature in industry discussions, in economic insights events, and in commentary across outlets such as PMN. Readers are encouraged to refer to those sources directly for the full discussion.
Featured Economic Development Articles
This hub connects to a wider collection of articles exploring Pacific economic development, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Pacific Entrepreneurship
- Pacific Entrepreneurship and SME Growth in Aotearoa
- Challenges Facing Pacific Entrepreneurs
- Access to Business Networks
- Building Sustainable Businesses
Economic Development
- Workforce Development
- Economic Participation
- Business Ecosystems
Leadership
- Leadership and Economic Growth
- Partnerships that Create Opportunity
- Leadership in Complex Systems
Current Focus & Enquiries
Mary continues to contribute to conversations around leadership, governance, entrepreneurship, and economic development across Aotearoa New Zealand. She welcomes enquiries relating to speaking, leadership, economic development discussions and professional engagements.
Get in touchFrequently Asked Questions
Pacific economic development is the work of strengthening economic participation, business growth and opportunity for Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. It includes supporting Pacific entrepreneurs, building business ecosystems and partnerships, and developing the workforce. The aim is broader and more resilient economic prosperity for Pacific communities and the wider economy.
Mary Los'e has contributed to Māori and Pacific economic development through executive leadership, support for entrepreneurs, partnership-building, governance and public engagement. Her focus has been on strengthening the wider business ecosystem, including mentoring, business capability, access to networks and leadership development, rather than on isolated initiatives.
Pacific business growth is supported by partnerships across business, government and community. These include collaboration with chambers of commerce and business networks, industry partnerships that connect enterprises to sectors and supply chains, and cross-sector collaboration around shared economic goals. Partnerships of this kind create access, opportunity and the conditions for sustainable growth.
Mary speaks on Pacific business growth, entrepreneurship, economic participation, partnerships, workforce development and the leadership needed to build economic opportunity. Her contributions reflect systems thinking and an ecosystem perspective drawn from cross-sector executive experience.