Pūniu River Care is an established marae-based river care trust, with a clear kaupapa (purpose) to enable the local community to be involved in the environment restoration and enhancement of their river catchment. To achieve this, they provide work experience and training for rangatahi and whānau from their native plant nursery near Te Awamutu.

To continue this charitable mahi, Pūniu River Care needed to increase their commercial offering to achieve financial sustainability. They partnered with the RDT Pacific Capital Intelligence team to explore their current and future potential position within the commercial market.

The RDT Pacific team engaged in more than 20 interviews and undertook significant desktop research and market analysis into the native plant market in Aotearoa New Zealand. They facilitated progressive co-design workshops with Pūniu River Care leaders to ensure their existing intellectual property and industry knowledge were leveraged, and the direction of the final report aligned with their requirements and expectations.

Driven by a passion to improve equity, create opportunities for partnership and growth within the Waikato community, and their experience in due diligence research, the project team applied a unique skillset to the final due diligence report for Pūniu River Care.

The report has equipped Pūniu River Care with vital information and incentives that are in line with their kaupapa of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and sustainability. With these valuable insights, they can make informed strategic decisions that will enable them to flourish and grow.