Te W’anake : The Foundry was officially launched and opened in February 2023. The idea was born following a collaboration effort with BAF (Bishops Action Foundation) & Otago University within which we researched the lived reality of rural Taranaki townships, concluding that social enterprise creation could be a powerful tool to generate social and economic capital within rural townships. We concluded that actively and effectively nurtured start-up and emergent enterprise would become a beacon for entrepreneurs and that a co-working hub would be a vital component for the success of this vision.
As a catalyst of economic growth in South Taranaki Te W’anake has made strategic partnerships with the likes of Doso, Venture Taranaki and Massey Ventures to support and nurture Startups and entrepreneurs within the region. The Foundry hosted Start-Up weekend in 2024 and have hosted a further 30 community events since opening. They have over 150 members and over 130 companies connected. Since opening in 2023 Venture Taranaki have also been running their Startup Clinics out of the Foundry and have seen a noticeable increase in the scale of clinic numbers over this period.
Thank you for bringing such an awesome resource to our community! Shevaun O’Brien, South Taranaki Principals Association
Paul Whakatutu, Enterprise Hub Lead at Te W’anake says that the impact report results demonstrate that The Foundry is successfully building a more connected and effective enterprise network within Hawera and is having a tangible impact on the economic vibrancy of the South Taranaki region.
The space is awesome, the people are awesome and the resources are great. Thank you Te Whanake. Kathleen Nuku Ngāti Ruanui Ta’ūa