Lake Taupō Business Start-Up Grant

Grant for new ventures operating on Lake Taupō, its tributaries or the Waikato Awa.

Closes

Applications accepted year-round until the five annual grants are allocated

Who can apply

Registered Ngāti Tūwharetoa members, with at least one owner registered with the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, starting a brand new business — existing businesses cannot apply — that will operate on Lake Taupō, its tributaries or the Waikato Awa, e.g. guided fishing, boat and water activities and similar ventures.

Whakapapa

Registered with the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, the Tūwharetoa Settlement Trust or the Ngāti Tūwharetoa Fisheries Charitable Trust. Registration with one of the three is what makes you eligible, not descent alone.

Amount

$2,000. Only five grants are awarded each year, July to June

Funding route

Grant

Applicants

Individuals & whānau, Businesses & land trusts

Before you apply

Five a year and no closing date, so the pūtea runs out rather than shuts. Early in the July-to-June year is materially better than late.

The grant covers business plan development costs, which is the stage most new ventures cannot get funded anywhere. Letters of support where applicable. Incomplete applications are not considered at all.

The water is the test — the venture has to operate on Lake Taupō, its tributaries or the Waikato Awa. A Tūwharetoa business doing something else needs a different doorway.

Official source →

Checked 16 September 2026

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Details change without notice. Check the funder's own page before you apply. Tōku Waka does not administer, assess or award this funding.