Access to capital helps Native entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses that strengthen local economies and communities. Learn how CDFIs and Native Hawaiian-led lending programs are expanding opportunity through financing, training, and long-term support.

Discover how Native CDFIs expand access to capital, support Native entrepreneurs, and fuel business growth, job creation, and long-term community wealth.

In Hawaiʻi, growth has always been relational. Nothing thrives in isolation. Not kalo. Not families. Not businesses. We see this every day in our communities. Local entrepreneurs are doing real work.

Explore how Hawaiʻi can support small business success by aligning policy, funding, and technical assistance with Hawaiian values like pilina, kuleana, pono, and aloha ʻāina. Drawing from the UHERO report, this article outlines non-extractive, regenerative approaches that strengthen Native Hawaiian and local entrepreneurs.

Discover why Hawaiʻi’s future businesses will win with values—not just profit. Learn the ʻĀinapreneur framework (People, Place, Purpose), how ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi builds brand trust, and how mission-aligned practices strengthen resilience and customer loyalty.

As Hawaiʻi continues to reclaim and celebrate its Indigenous identity, the Hawaiian language ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi is reemerging not only in homes and schools but also in a powerful new space: the business sector.

The work we do does not and cannot happen in isolation. By deepening relationships with community organizations, educational institutions, employers, funders, and public partners, we are creating a more connected ecosystem.

This year, change didn’t knock on the door. It sat at the kitchen table. It showed up in every meeting with community members navigating economic hardship, in every conversation with youth imagining futures not yet built…

In Hawaiʻi, giving is more than charity—it’s relationship, responsibility, and aloha. Learn how value-aligned philanthropy is restoring dignity, uplifting community voices, and creating lasting, rooted change.

Across our islands, conversations around economic development are shifting. While traditional indicators like GDP and tourism revenue remain visible, they fail to capture the deeper, community-rooted forms of wealth that define long-term wellbeing in Hawaiʻi.

As we come to the close of 2025, I find myself reflecting with deep gratitude and pride. This year has been one of steady building, thoughtful growth, and renewed commitment to the communities we serve. It has not been about rushing forward, but…

When I was a child, we didn’t have to go far for a snack. On long afternoons riding bikes with friends, we’d stop along the way to pick mango, lychee, or guava straight from our neighbors’ yards. We always asked first, of course, and more often than not, the answer came with a smile and a story. Nobody minded. That was just how things were. Food was shared, not sold. The ʻāina was generous, and so were the people.

There was a time when Hawaiʻi didn’t just grow its own food; it made its own everything. From canning pineapple and brewing Primo beer to bottling local sodas and distributing them island-wide, Hawaiʻi’s agricultural and manufacturing economy was vibrant, self-sustaining, and proudly local.

On a quiet stretch of road in Puna, a wooden little booth serves as more than just a food stand; it’s a symbol of community care. These unmanned stands, now popping up across neighborhoods, hold home-baked breads, candies, fresh produce, and lovingly prepared meals. There’s no cash register, just a deep sense of trust.

As the year winds down and the world begins to slow, many organizations take this time to rest and reflect. At ChangeMakers, we are reflecting too, but our reflection fuels renewal. This season, instead of powering down, we are gearing up. We are preparing to…

When people hear “entrepreneur,” they often picture tech startups, pitch decks, and high-speed scaling. But for many of us navigating the world as Native social entrepreneurs, the work looks, and feels very different.

When I first started thinking about business, I didn’t imagine a sleek office or a viral product. I imagined people. I imagined our community. I imagined making something that mattered—not just something that made money.