From South Auckland to the Southland plains, Pacific peoples have enriched Aotearoa’s social and cultural fabric while contributing significantly to its economy. Yet, this community remains an underutilised resource when it comes to building stronger economic bridges between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The people of the diaspora represent far more than cultural and familial ties: they offer an avenue into the Pacific region, to stimulate enterprise, drive investment, and transfer vital skills.
In the early 2000s, PTI New Zealand launched the Return to Roots programme to address this very potential. The idea was to encourage Pacific New Zealanders to reconnect with their ancestral homelands through small-scale investments, entrepreneurial support and business partnerships. But the idea was premature. Back then, limited access to the internet across the islands, high travel costs and weak digital and financial infrastructure made it difficult for such ambitions to flourish.
Despite these drawbacks, the Return to Roots missions still produced some interesting examples of the Pacific Islands diaspora investing in their home countries. One of these was a joint venture between a seasonal worker from Vanuatu working in New Zealand (under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme) and his Vanuatu employer, Virgin Coconut Oil. Another successful diaspora entrepreneur invested in a beef farm back in Tonga.
Fast-forward two decades, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Mobile connectivity has surged across the Pacific, online banking has become widespread, and logistics networks, though still developing, are increasingly sophisticated. Ecommerce is now a viable option even in remote parts of the Pacific, and knowledge transfer through virtual platforms has become the norm. The success of the many fashion designers based in the Pacific is evidence of this. Such progress offers potential to revisit the concept of a Return to Roots programme refreshed and redesigned to suit today’s reality, to foster more meaningful diaspora engagement and to facilitate Pasifika peoples’ investment in their country of cultural identity.
A modern framework for diaspora engagement
Globally, diaspora communities have become powerful engines of development and trade. Their contribution is increasingly seen not just in the billions they remit annually, but also in the networks they open, the capital they mobilise, and the skills they bring home. Countries like India and Jamaica have led the way in creating structured platforms to harness these flows.
India, with one of the world’s largest and most successful diasporas, has long recognised the value of overseas Indians as investors and change-makers. Through initiatives such as the Know India Programme, aimed at reconnecting second-generation overseas Indians with their heritage, and the India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians, which facilitates diaspora philanthropy, the country has created meaningful mechanisms that translate sentiment into action. These efforts have spurred investment in everything from health care and education to clean energy and digital services across underserviced regions.
Jamaica has similarly formalised diaspora participation. Digital platforms such as JA Diaspora Engage invest in local ventures, offer professional expertise and co-develop projects across sectors. With support from the Jamaican Government and international agencies, these platforms give diaspora members an active role in national development, moving beyond remittances to more productive and long-term economic contributions.
These examples are instructive. The Pacific diaspora in New Zealand already contributes substantial remittances to countries like Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. But remittances, while vital, are often used for consumption and immediate needs. There is growing interest, especially among second and third generation New Zealand-born Pacific Islanders, to engage more deeply and sustainably with the region of their ancestors. What they need is a channel to convert goodwill and capital into development. That channel must be structured, secure and supported.
A modernised programme in New Zealand could include diaspora-led investment funds that pool capital from New Zealand-based Pacific Islanders to invest in regionally significant sectors like agriculture, transport, tourism, renewable energy and value-added manufacturing. This could be done in partnership with development agencies and local banks to de-risk participation. Equally important would be the creation of mentorship and professional networks, allowing skilled Pacific New Zealanders to provide guidance to small business owners across the region working in tourism, agribusiness, ICT or the creative economy. The creative sector in New Zealand is already well-populated with Pasifika talent.
The opportunity is especially ripe in the space of cross-border ecommerce. Companies like SkyEye Pacific in Samoa and M-PAiSA in Fiji are already leading the way. With the rise of digital marketplaces, entrepreneurs in the islands can now sell cosmetics, fashion, food products and handicrafts globally, but they often lack the marketing know-how, logistics infrastructure or regulatory clarity to scale their efforts. Diaspora involvement, both as mentors and co-investors, can make a difference. Platforms built by Pacific New Zealanders, drawing on their local market insight and overseas reach, could connect Pacific-made goods directly with consumers in Australia, New Zealand, the US and beyond. Such models already exist within the Indian and African diasporas and could be adapted to the Pacific context with appropriate support.
