It’s all about looking after your people, says Debbie Birch (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa Ki Te Tonga), winner of this year’s Infinz Māori Leadership in Finance Award.

“It’s important to recognise that mana and money go together,” Birch said after being recognised at last Thursday’s Infinz gala dinner.

“Having wealth provides many options. Not having wealth, you’re stuck in the poverty trap. My vision is to make sure we move the dial to enable better outcomes.

“You need money to deliver on social benefits that you might want for your iwi.”

Birch helped establish direct investment funding for Māori and iwi entities, including Te Pūia Tāpapa Investment Fund made up of 26 iwi and Māori entities.

Te Pūia Tāpapa has $115.5 million available for co-investment in large-scale New Zealand businesses and assets.

“There is not enough capital to do everything everyone wants to do,” Birch said. “The only answer is to grow limited capital so there are better choices in the future.”

Unlocking the potential of her community and highlighting its strengths motivates Birch to continue her work in the financial sector.

She is also the director and board chairwoman at IwiInvestor, a Māori-owned and led investment advice business where funds under management have quadrupled.

“IwiInvestor has been in the top quartile of fund performance across the market benchmarked against our peers,” Birch said.

In 1987, Birch left Aotearoa for Hong Kong. She spent 17 years offshore predominantly running capital market operations in Asia before moving to Australia to run a hedge fund.

Returning to Aotearoa in 2003, Birch decided to use her expertise in the iwi space and has since focused largely on Māori economic development.

“I wanted to use my skills as best as I can for my people, but also to reconnect with my people,” Birch said.

“It’s important to make sure our future leaders are well-versed in finance.

“While I’m humbled, I’m excited because there’s so many younger people who will have something to strive for.”