Social impact organisation Tapuwae Roa has welcomed ten Māori-founded startups into its Tupu Accelerator – including a digital health platform targeted at people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Delivered in partnership with Sprout Agritech and co-funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Tupu aims to address the underrepresentation of Māori within Aotearoa’s startup ecosystem and to support founders seeking to scale innovative ventures.
The accelerator runs over eight weeks, culminating in the Tupu Accelerator Showcase at the Aotea Centre, Auckland, on July 2 ,where participants will pitch their ventures to investors, partners and industry leaders.
The latest cohort marks the third consecutive year of the eight-week programme, and Tapuwae Roa Kaihautū Te Pūoho Kātene said demand “from founders building ambitious ventures with global potential,” was increasing year-on-year.
“At the same time, we’re seeing growing engagement from investors, industry leaders and ecosystem partners who recognise the value and calibre of Māori innovation emerging through the programme,” Mr Kātene said.
Included in this year’s cohort is Insyt, a digital health platform being developed to help people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) better understand and manage their symptoms day to day.
Hannah Dryland (Ngāpuhi), co-founder of Insyt, said Tupu would help strengthen the company’s strategic and commercial capability as it continues developing solutions for people living with IBS.
“We’re excited to be part of the Tupu Accelerator. We’re here to build something that genuinely improves how people live with IBS and this gives us the environment and support to keep moving forward,” Ms Dryland said.
Insyt was “focused on reducing the uncertainty and trial and error that many people with IBS experience, by combining wearable data with simple user inputs to provide personalised, practical guidance.”
“Our goal is to help people with IBS feel more in control of their health and more confident in their everyday decisions.”
Since launching in 2024, the accelerator has received applications from more than 200 Māori-founded startups across Aotearoa and has onboarded 53 founders into the programme – with 75 per cent identifying as Māori and a growing number of Pasifika co-founders also participating.
The programme has also continued to attract strong regional and demographic diversity, with participants representing 15 regions across New Zealand and nearly half based outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Female founders have consistently made up a significant proportion of participants, including 55 per cent of the 2026 cohort.
“Part of Tupu’s role is addressing structural gaps within Aotearoa’s innovation and investment ecosystem,” Mr Kātene said.
“Founders based outside of major centres often face reduced access to accelerator programmes, capital networks, specialist support, and investment pathways. The same barriers continue to disproportionately affect minority founders.
“Tupu exists to help close those gaps by creating pathways into high-growth entrepreneurship, investment readiness and innovation ecosystems for pakihi Māori across the motu.”
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