Business New Zealand says businesses will fail if they don't start learning how to interact with Maori and their protocols.
Waikato University has launched a new course to help business leaders better understand tikanga Maori and help them tap into the Maori economy.
Victoria University in Wellington has done the same and is helping to prepare students to enter the workforce with the skills needed to engage with Maori businesses.
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly says the number of Maori businesses is growing rapidly and businesspeople who don't understand Maori protocols will fail.
He says he hopes the course will be only one of many ways businesses start integrating Maori culture into their workplaces.
