Maria Ngawati is a leading voice in Māori innovation and Indigenous enterprise, a small business owner and Founder and CEO of IndigiShare Charitable Trust. She champions a mātauranga Māori-led and mana motuhake-driven social enterprise focused on building economic resilience among whānau. 

With a background in health and tertiary education, Maria blends lived experience, strategic insight, and mātauranga Māori to uplift whānau and small businesses. Based in Rotorua and a māmā of five, her work is grounded in whānau-led, Māori-driven solutions for a thriving future.