In every corner of our lāhui — from rural homesteads to city neighborhoods, from Kānaka-led businesses in Hawaiʻi to ventures thriving on distant coastlines — Native Hawaiians are building futures rooted in identity, culture, and community. And increasingly, they are doing so through entrepreneurship.
At the recent Hawaiian Council conference in Washington State, OHA leadership and staff connected with Kānaka from across the continent: business owners, educators, creatives, farmers, and more. Many had moved away in search of stability or opportunity for their ʻohana. But what stood out was not their distance from Hawaiʻi — it was their unwavering closeness to purpose.
These are Hawaiians still deeply connected to home, leading with ʻike and aloha, and shaping lives and businesses that reflect who they are and where they come from.
We see this spirit in trailblazers like Aunty Tammy Smith, one of this year’s Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce ʻŌʻō Award honorees. For decades, her intergenerational food business has nourished our people — preparing ancestral staples like kalo, ʻuala, and ʻulu; feeding hundreds of students daily at Hawaiian-focused charter schools and distributing over 250,000 meals during the pandemic alone. Grounded in the abundance of her beloved ahupuaʻa of Hakipuʻu, her entrepreneurship reflects the best of Hawaiian enterprise: values-driven, resilient, and always in service to community.
This story is not hers alone. Across the pae ʻāina and beyond, Kānaka are creating value in ways that honor heritage while addressing modern needs. Through ʻāina-based ventures, wellness services, tech platforms, and cultural education, they are not just making ends meet — they are redefining what it means to be Kānaka ʻŌiwi in this century.
Our kūpuna were systems thinkers, navigators, and stewards of abundance. Today’s entrepreneurs carry that inheritance forward. What’s evolving now is how we build systems that actively support and sustain their efforts.
At OHA, our commitment is to do more than fund good ideas. While our grants and loans remain vital tools, we understand real transformation comes when we address the systems surrounding Native Hawaiian entrepreneurship. That means advocating for policy changes that normalize investment in our communities, influencing procurement practices, expanding access to capital, and creating space for public-private partnerships that prioritize Native Hawaiian ventures. When Kānaka rise, they lift their communities with them.
Many are shifting the definition of success — moving from individual achievement to collective wellbeing. They lead with values, embed culture not as branding but as core infrastructure, and create workplaces that reflect kuleana, care, and excellence. These aren’t just good businesses; they are modeling new standards of leadership.
At OHA, we believe in these leaders. We see their capacity not only to grow successful ventures, but to transform sectors, policies, and mindsets. They are not waiting for permission or for systems to make room — they are building their own tables, grounded in ʻike kūpuna and 21st-century vision.
Our purpose is to walk beside them — to invest, to advocate, to remove barriers — and to help build the conditions where their success is expected, not exceptional.
This is how we strengthen our lāhui. Together.
Mahalo nui,
Summer Lee Haunani Sylva
Ka Pouhana Kūikawā | Interim Chief Executive Officer
