About — Iti Rearea Collective

Iti Rearea Collective exists to remove systemic barriers that keep migrant communities from reaching their full potential in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our first Auckland-based initiative enables migrant entrepreneurs to achieve financial independence and social inclusion by creating profitable enterprises.

The impact of this initiative includes increased confidence and wellbeing, job creation, improved livelihood, increased social cohesion and social inclusion and added value to Aotearoa’s society and economy in the long-term.

Background

In 2019, Foundation North ran a co-design workshop to ideate and brainstorm different innovative and collaborative prototypes for ethnically diverse communities. One idea was a microfinance fund which has since evolved into an enterprise programme with wrap-around support including access to microfinance and financial capability building.

Through research and a co-design process, a handful of passionate organisations from the resettlement community, microfinance, entrepreneurship, financial capability building and education sectors came together to pioneer our first Auckland-based initiative. These organisations now known as Iti Rearea Collective all play a role in co-leading and delivering our enterprise programme using the Collective Impact model. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed among collective partners and an advisory group was established in March 2021.

The name Iti Rearea Collective was gifted to us by Otene Hopa, our Maori Advisor. Derived from the Maori whakatauki “Iti rearea, kahikatea, tei tei, ka tea” which translates to “Even the small rearea bird can ascend to the great heights of the Kahikatea tree.” Our vision is to see our disadvantaged migrant communities ascend to the great heights of their fulfilled aspiration and potential.

The Collective

Our vision is for Aotearoa to be safe and just place for migrant communities to ascend to great heights of fulfilled aspiration and potential.

Supported By

Strategic Leadership

Abann K. A Yor
Aotearoa Resettled Communities Coalition - General Manager

Abann arrived in NZ in 2005 as a forced migrant from South Sudan. He has worked at Aotearia Resettled Community Coalition (ARCC) since 2006 - an organisation that brings together a coalition of 24 member organisations from 20 different countries and ethnic backgrounds. ARCC works to break the cycle of ongoing challenges for forced migrant background communities and achieve better settlement and integration outcomes, and a strong sense of belonging.

Abann has strong advocacy, leadership and management capabilities and takes a human rights approach to a community issue. He has completed numerous qualifications including a Graduate Diploma in Not-for-Profit Management, a Postgraduate Diplomas in Bi-cultural Professional Supervision and Social Practice, and Master of Applied Indigenous Knowledge.

Talitha Mentz
Iti Rearea Collective - Project Lead

Talitha is a results-focused individual with a vibrant growth mindset and a unique combination of creativity, drive, and leadership. As a leader, strategist, innovator, and social impact changemaker she has brought ideas to life and provided the highest quality project and stakeholder management over a sustained 10-year period. She brings to the collective a strong commercial instinct and a huge passion for social and environmental impact and systems change.

Talitha has earned a professional reputation for delivering engaging and innovative projects to a variety of high-level clientele, including but not limited to BNZ, The Skycity Breakers Basketball Team, Auckland Council, Adherium Technology, and many more.

Combining her love for business and social enterprise, Talitha has always operated with one foot in the NGO door and currently collaborates with various community groups and low decile schools in South & West Auckland to provide services and support to them on a pro bono basis.

She believes that integrity, pride, and creativity can solve any problem.

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Dr Marissa Kologa
Otago University - Lecturer and Researcher

Dr. Marissa Kaloga is a lecturer and researcher at University of Otago’s Social and Community Work Programme where she teaches organisational and community development. Her research focuses on economic justice and inclusive entrepreneurship. Her past research includes work with marginalised yet resilient populations such as sex workers, former refugees, and women in extreme poverty in Africa, Asia, and North America.

She was the 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar to Guinea, West Africa where she researched Conakry’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and supported the development of a new social work degree program.

Marissa previously worked as the Director of Innovation for the Economic and Community Development Institute in the US, a non-profit microfinance institute, where she led the Business Innovation Centre, Women’s Business Centre, and implemented programs to support minority business ownership.

Ngā Tāngata Microfinance - Our Microfinance Loan Partner

Ngā Tāngata Microfinance is currently recruiting for a new CEO and we have interim leadership being held on our Leadership Team by Marcela Mingoti who is the current Finance Manager and interim CEO with Ngā Tāngata Microfinance.

Ngā Tāngata Microfinance is a small, non-profit organization focused on helping financially vulnerable New Zealanders get ahead with money. They provide ethical, interest-free loans that give Kiwis a ‘hand up’, not a ‘hand-out’.

Ngā Tāngata Microfinance has been with the Collective since its inception and partner with us to provide community lending to our incredible participants so that they can have fair and equitable access to finance here in Aotearoa.

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Dr Sangeeta Karmokar
Women Entrepreneurship Centre - Trustee & Founder

Sangeeta founded the Women Entrepreneurship Centre to help budding entrepreneurs (both women and men) to unleash their potential and achieve their dreams through a series of business workshops and networking events. Since 2016, the Women Entrepreneurship Centre has served over 275 participants and enabled 40 business startups.

Sangeeta holds a PhD in e-business design for SME and is also an educator and researcher at AUT. Sangeeta’s current research and teaching expertise involves design thinking, digital innovation, entrepreneurial strategy, women entrepreneurship and designing business models and strategy.

Ron Lal
Founder/CEO - Momentum Mind Lab

Ron has over 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, consulting, NGO, governmental and corporate sectors. He believes that Design Thinking can create impact and drive innovation across every sector of the business. He has used Design Thinking to identify new customer segments for failing businesses, resulting in producing 7-figure business results, and helping them increase ROI by focusing on Customer Experience Design. On several occasions, he has worked with business leaders to help solve some complex issues in their business.

He is passionate about creating impactful businesses by focusing on the Human Experience, Business needs, and Sustainability. When he is not in “working mode” Ron spending time with family, walking, bike riding, golfing, and mediation.