We are thrilled to bring you Miriana Stephens, a director for Wakatū Incorporation and General Manager of AuOra™. Wakatū recently signed several MOUs with Japanese organisations to further business ties in education and Food & Beverage. They are approaching the Japanese market in a way that is resonating with their Japanese counterparts, so we are excited to hear more about this and their latest products coming soon. *Manaakitanga: The process of showing respect, generosity and care for others. Thank you to NZ Story for introducing us to this FernMark Licensee member.

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In this episode you’ll hear:

• How Miriana came to be a director for Wakatū after managing her own business
• Why Wakatū decided to choose Japan for their new business AuOra™
• How Wakatū has excelled despite the challenges of Covid-19 
• What’s next for Wakatū and when we can expect to see some new products launching

About Miriana

Miriana was born in Motueka and her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts (NZ History) and a Law Degree. She currently resides in Motueka and has four children. She was awarded the 2016 Aotearoa NZ Māori Woman Business Leader award in recognition of outstanding success and excellence in business. 

Miriana is a director for Wakatū Incorporation (Wakatū), its subsidiaries and various committees and they are guided by their intergenerational 500 year vision, Te Pae Tawhiti. Wakatū convened the Te Tauihu Intergenerational Regional Strategy which is a business-led approach to regional development in Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough. This initiative is in partnership with all three councils, whānau, hapū and Iwi, the business community, NMIT and has been supported by investment from the Provincial Growth Fund.  Key priorities are the wellbeing of tangata (our people), te Taiao (our natural world) and pūtea (our economy). 

Miriana is also the General Manager for AuOra™ an associated business of Wakatū that invests in a portfolio of nutrition and ingredient applications which are sourced from the natural biomatter of Aotearoa. The focus is to provide health and wellness solutions that improve the quality of life in the areas of digestive, brain, inflammatory and metabolic health as well as the health of our natural world. 

Miriana has another role as a trustee on AGMARDT, Te Āwhina Marae in Motueka and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rārua. She is a member of Nuku ki te Puku™ (a national Māori Food and Beverage cluster), the Food and Fibres Partnership Group for the Ministry of Primary Industries (Te Taiao Working Group), NZTE Steering Group Expo 2020 (NZTE) and is the Chair of Leaft Proteins SFFF Programme. 

Links:

http://www.wakatu.org 

http://www.kono.co.nz 

http://www.tetauihu.nz 

NZ Story: https://www.nzstory.govt.nz/ 

FernMark: https://www.fernmark.nzstory.govt.nz/ 

Jandals in Japan is brought to you by Catherine O’Connell Law and PodLaunch with Jayne

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