The Tauola Business Fund was established as part of the Ministry’s Pacific Business Village framework, for the purpose of direct investment into Pacific businesses across Aotearoa to increase regional productivity, scale businesses, and ensure participation in economic development projects.
Round 1 of the Fund closed on 27 May 2022 and a second round of funding was announced on 18 November 2022. Round 2 of the Fund closed on 24 January 2023.
The aims of the Tauola Business Fund Round 2 were to:
Applicants were able to apply for an amount up to $100,000 excluding GST and were required to contribute a minimum of 15% of the requested amount.
Applications closed on Tuesday 24 January at 9am.
The evaluation criteria for the fund consisted of two areas:
Applications were scored against answers to the questions in Section 4, and the advice we received from the Ministry's finance team in relation to applicants' financials.
If you have any questions about the fund or the application process, please check out our Tauola Business Fund booklet, and our frequently asked questions about the fund.
Alternatively, you can email [email protected].
The aims of the Tauola Business Fund were to:
Applicants were able apply for up to $100,000 excl. GST and were required to contribute a minimum of 15% of the requested amount.
Applications opened: 11.00 am on Friday, 18 November 2022
Applications closed: 9am on Tuesday, 24 January 2023.
To be eligible for the Tauola Business Fund, applicants must have:
Applications closed at 9am, Tuesday, 24 January 2023.
You will be required to upload the following documents as part of your application:
a character reference from an independent person who knows the primary applicant and is familiar with the business applying for this funding. Your referee cannot be a family member. The reference needs to be uploaded to the application form using the template below:
Character reference template: [Download MS Word format] | [Download PDF format]
IMPORTANT: You'll be required to provide all applicable supporting documents before we can process your application.
If you need assistance with your application or supporting documents, please email [email protected].
Following your application submission, if your business is eligible for further assessment, you will be asked to provide the following documentation:
If this information is required, we will request via email. Please DO NOT upload this information within the application form.
However, please prepare the above documentation ahead of time, to expedite the assessment process if and when it is requested. The Ministry’s Finance team will provide advice to the Tauola Business Fund team on your documentation.
Please make sure your documents are only saved in .doc, .docx, .jpg, .png or .pdf file format and please include your full organisation name in the filename before uploading. This will help us match up your documents with your application form when processing. Please also make sure attachments are no larger than 4MB in file size.
Supporting documentation can be emailed
If your documentation won't upload to the application form, or contains information you consider private or sensitive, or you have additional supporting documentation to attach, please email it to [email protected], using your name or organisation name in the subject line so we can match it with your application.
The Tauola Business Fund is available for Pacific businesses who can demonstrate the following:
Note: This is not an exclusive list.
The Ministry has previously funded the following through the Tauola Business Fund:
The Tauola Business Fund is not available for:
*Third-party construction and infrastructure contractors providing labour and equipment to the build may be eligible.
** Support and funding are available within our Pacific Business Village for these services.
Successful applicants will be required to comply with the key milestone requirements of their Grant Funding Agreement, including quarterly reporting.
If you need more information about the Tauola Business Fund, please email [email protected].
The list of recipients for the second round of Tauola Business funding are as follows: