Over the past three days, 36 exceptional rangatahi Maori and Pasifika young minds from high schools across Aotearoa were united in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland to attend 'Young Navigators,' an entrepreneurial education programme by Young Enterprise Trust.

The initiative, supported by Coca-Cola New Zealand, One NZ, Pacific Business Trust, and Pasifika Futures is a fusion between the organisation’s flagship programme, ‘Young Enterprise Scheme’, and a fast-paced startup weekend, incorporating Māori and Pasifika cultural values and perspectives throughout, designed to immerse students in enterprise-focused activities to connect, collaborate and learn.

Over the past three days, 36 exceptional rangatahi Māori and Pasifika young minds from high schools across Aotearoa were united in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland attend, ‘Young Navigators,’ an entrepreneurial education programme by Young Enterprise Trust.

Throughout the programme, students worked in teams and were hosted by six leading New Zealand organisations –Accenture, Coca-Cola New Zealand, Deloitte, Grid AKL Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, One NZ and Pacific Business Trust who mentored the students as they tackled The Coca-Cola Business Challenge. Students were challenged to develop innovative solutions for a cleaner environment, tasked to reduce waste in public spaces and prevent litter from reaching waterways.

Team Accenture took out first place in the 36-hour business challenge with their innovative solution addressing the challenge. The winning team members were Ana-Malia Vaotangi from Mahurangi College, Lilli Hiatt from Nelson College for Girls, Hannah-Elise Soper from Upper Hutt College, John Faifili from De La Salle College, Joseph Lagi from Mount Albert Grammar School and Lincoln Junior Mumuta. The team was guided by alumni mentor, Ngapuhi Kraus, and company hosts from Accenture, Kimerly Martel, Erin Abernethy, Corrina Halford and Adele Stapelberg. The judges were impressed by the team's plausible business plan and the scalability of their idea which saw waste turned into playground equipment

CEO of Young Enterprise Trust, Alex Bullot, commented on the programme saying, “Weare proud to create a space where young people are empowered to bring their whole selves to the table. The energy, enthusiasm and drive of our young navigators to jump straight into something unfamiliar was incredibly inspiring.”

Alumni mentor Magdalena Chong shared, “It’s an important programme that allows us to see our people being acknowledge and represented in a space that where we aren’t usually represented.”

Julie O’Toole, Director of Coca-Cola Oceania, said: “It’s been a privilege to support this year’s programme and see the creativity, passion and leadership these young minds brought to the challenge.

“Their thoughtful solutions to reducing waste in public spaces show just how capable and committed our next generation of entrepreneurs are when it comes to creating real change. At Coca-Cola NZ, we’re proud to support initiatives that give rangatahi the opportunity to lead, grow, and shape a more sustainable future for their communities.”

Young Navigators participants were chosen from applicants who are all participants in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) programme. They represented a total of 36 schools from 15 regions. The YES programme has over 5000 participants, who create and run their own businesses throughout the school year as a part of the entrepreneurial education programme.

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