The Hikurangi Foundation was established by The Todd Foundation and The Tindall Foundation in 2008 to support practical action on climate change and the environment. Hikurangi Foundation funded and supported a wide range of grassroots and community led innovation across New Zealand.
It facilitated over 20 targeted and positive engagements on climate change in Aotearoa New Zealand. These engagements have reached across regions, cultures and sectors, and have been delivered in partnership with over 70 different organisations, communities, and institutions.
Hikurangi Foundation focused on being New Zealand’s incubator for low-carbon social innovation, using a venture philanthropy model to accelerate practical, collaborative and entrepreneurial action in the areas of transport, energy, land-use, living, and enterprise.
Over time, the organisation started to see that social enterprise provided a proven and sustainable vehicle for driving transformation and change. Hikurangi’s mission evolved to focus on five impact areas (transport; housing; consumption and waste; land and ecosystems; and energy), and the team developed an incubation model that provides a mix of complementary support services to social enterprises and entrepreneurs.
In early 2014, the New Zealand Government set out a position statement on social enterprise, and announced investment to expand Hikurangi’s incubation and development services for high-potential social enterprise across Aotearoa New Zealand.
In May 2014, the organisation broadened its mission and adopted a new name for the foundation, Ākina, to help describe the next chapter in its story. Ākina is a Māori word used as a call for bold action. It also conveys a spirit of watchful and active encouragement, helping others to identify pathways through their challenges.
The Ākina Foundation is focused on the support and development of social enterprise. It works across New Zealand and has teams based in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.
Ākina’s vision is for a sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive world. This comes from the belief that social entrepreneurs and social enterprises represent a powerful opportunity to build a new economy that regenerates the environment and creates the social foundations for people to thrive.
For more information:
Alex Hannant, Chief Executive, The Ākina Foundation.
+64 4 384 9676