Iwi leaders are being challenged to pay more attention to getting their people up to speed on money matters.
Officials from the Crown's Maori Economic Development Strategy team gave a presentation to about 60 iwi authority chairs at a hui last week.
The He Kai Kei Aku Ringa representatives encouraged tribal leaders to focus on developing their own financial literacy lessons to deliver to whanau.
Ngati Kahungunu chair Ngahiwi Tomoana said that would ensure economics were not just left at iwi and hapu level but were transferred down to whanau.
He said if whanau were not strong, then hapu and iwi would never be strong.
