Kevin Jenkins: The story of Pasifika business is bigger than the minimum wage

(Authored by Kevin Jenkins, originally published by the NZ Herald on 7 March 2021)

Excerpt:

Award-winner MYRIVR is one example, and another is MakaNet, the only Pasifika-owned and -operated ISP in Aotearoa. Their unique offering is a great price for unlimited fibre, but being Pasifika-owned and -led also makes a difference.

Demonstrating cultural understanding with Pasifika clients has boosted trust when pitching to Pasifika homes and businesses. Their countrywide broadband service covers urban and rural areas, from fibre to satellite, for all Kiwis.

It must be tough taking on the behemoths in the ISP world, but MakaNet’s Niuean-born and raised founder/CEO Emani Lui has had a vision of providing high-quality, affordable broadband to communities since 1999. Most of their clients are from south Auckland where the firm is based, but their client base is growing and broadening out, including into the US.

Lui told me that: “Being agile with refined processes helped us during the lockdown to connect people with fibre in less than two days.” Lots of homes had never had broadband services, or used mobile data only, and relied on WiFi hotspots in libraries, schools, cafes or workplaces. The lockdown prompted working from home and online learning, which forced families to get connected in a hurry.

Lui tells an exciting story: MakaNet is showing signs of being the frictionless and borderless digital company we hear so much about. Their company was originally established here in 2015 to acquire satellite bandwidth for wholesale to the islands. That journey evolved into a partnership with some local Kiwis that created a homegrown satellite ISP for rural and remote New Zealand.

Lui’s own ISP on Niue is experiencing good growth on the back of a recently launched high-throughput satellite delivering reliable service and high-quality performance that covers most of the Pacific and East Asia. MakaNet continues to explore opportunities in the Pacific region while helping communities get connected in Aotearoa.

MakaNet staff are predominantly Niuean, and their aim is to promote more Pasifika youth into the telco industry, but to also build a base of stay-at-home subcontractors, especially for their support calls and sales. They also take tertiary students studying technology as interns during their holidays.

Click to read the full story and find out how Pasifika are claiming their place in the New Zealand business community.