Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Nau Mai Rā
The Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards Ngā Tohu Pou Kōhure o Aotearoa have announced Nau Mā Rā Co-founder Ezra Hiriwani as an award finalist for 2022.
Hirawani (Te Āti Haunui-a-Paparangi / Ngāti Rangi / Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Hako / Waikato Tainui) is one of three finalists for the University of Canterbury Te Mātātahi o te Tau Young New Zealander of the Year Award. He was nominated for his work to achieve power equality as co-founder of New Zealand’s first kaupapa Māori energy retailer.
The Nau Mai Rā business model works by its customer whānau directing a koha from each power bill to their chosen kaupapa for no additional cost. The business also commits to doing no credit checks, turning no customer away, and never turning a home’s lights off. To-date this empowering model has proved successful with Nau Mai Rā running one of the lowest debt ratios in the industry.
Hirawani says the nomination is an unexpected honour, and a welcomed platform to acknowledge the issue of power inequity and invite more like minded whānau onto the waka as they move toward achieving fairer energy in Aotearoa.
“100,000 New Zealanders are living in power poverty. Nau Mai Rā is about changing this narrative and giving power to the people. Power should be a right, not a privilege.”
Opening up across the motu
The announcement coincides with Nau Mai Rā opening its doors to take on 10,000 customers following a generator agreement. After halting growth last year due to withdrawn support , Hirawani is thrilled that Nau Mai Rā can now continue to expand its customer base.
“At a conservative level, if we had 10,000 customers that would grow the whānau fund by $20,000 per month. In the space of a year, we could make a big dent in uplifting whānau across the motu out of power poverty.”
The Young New Zealander of the Year award is for, “The leaders of tomorrow who are brimming with the potential to build a bright future for Aotearoa. They are the ones who are striving to improve themselves, their communities and their nation.”
Hirawani was shortlisted from ten semi-finalists and thousands of nominations. Other finalists for the award are Dignity NZ Co-founder and period poverty advocate Jacinta Gulasakheram and purpose-led musician Stan Walker (Ngāi Te Rangi).
“It’s incredible to be recognised alongside Jacinta and Stan, two incredible people who I admire so much,” says Hirawani.
In 2021 Hirawani won the Impact Award for Inclusion alongside Gulasekharam, who won the Impact Award for Wellbeing. He has also been named a finalist in the Māori Business Leader Awards.
Winners will be announced at the gala dinner on March 31, 2022.
More information on Hirawani and the other finalists is available at nzawards.org.nz.
www.naumaira.nz
About Nau Mai Rā
Nau Mai Rā is the first kaupapa Māori energy retailer in Aotearoa. Their core purpose is creating power equity through the spirit of Manaakitanga.
Nau Mai Rā applies a Te Ao Māori worldview to delivering electricity, which means a commitment to turning no customer away, and turning no home’s electricity off. They believe power should be a right, not a privilege, and no whānau should be left behind. They also direct a koha from each bill to a kaupapa of the customer’s choice.
Nau Mai Rā was founded in 2019 by Ezra Hirawani and Ben Armstrong. It is run by a small team of young staff in Hamilton. They have 1,600 customers signed up, approximately 10,000 waiting to join, and are looking at investment options that are beneficial to the cause.
Using the current ‘business as usual’ data available, it’s estimated that over 3 years NMR will grow to service over 10,000 customers and deliver over $2m in power savings and more than $1m of koha will have been returned to the community.
