The MOU was signed by Treasury’s Deputy Secretary, Macroeconomics and Growth, Bryan Chapple, and PBT’s CEO Kim Tuaine.

Pacific Business Trust chair Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira said it is “a defining project that will allow New Zealanders to fully understand the economic contribution Pacific communities make to the nation’s economic wellbeing.”

“Our Pacific communities have contributed to the engine of Aotearoa New Zealand for a long time.”

“But we still face long-held negative perceptions about the lack of value to our country. This research can shed light on a community whose innovation and value have often been overlooked,” he said.

The project will support more targeted and relevant policies to be developed together with social enterprise approaches that will lead to better social and economic outcomes for Pacific New Zealanders.

Fa’amatuainu said this important work will inform government on sustainable wellbeing for Pacific communities.