ʻĀinapreneur Hōʻike
Hawaiʻi ʻĀinapreneurs Take a Bold Step to Rededfine Business Success
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
Hilo, HI, October 2, 2026 — What makes a business successful? Most people answer with one measure: profit. On Thursday, October 15, ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi will bring a different answer to life at the ʻĀinapreneur Hōʻike. A culminating celebration of Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs building businesses measured by four things: place, people, passion, and profit.
Place, because ʻāina is not a location. It is a relationship, and a business rooted in place knows what it is responsible for.
People, because employees are ʻohana, not headcount. Community relationships are assets, not audience.
Passion, because the reason someone started is not a branding story. It is the operating engine: the reason a business survives the year it shouldn't.
And profit, because profit is what remains after caring for the other three. Not what is taken before them. Wealth is judged by what it leaves standing.
The Hōʻike — a Hawaiian word meaning to show, demonstrate or share knowledge — gives participating ʻāinapreneurs an opportunity to step forward and share what they have built, what they have learned and where they hope to go next.
Throughout their ʻĀinapreneur journey, participants have strengthened the practical side of entrepreneurship while working from this different definition of growth. None of it is a feeling. It is a set of measures: employees as ʻohana, community relationships as assets, ʻāina as something to steward, and success as something that can be shared without being divided.
For participants like Kāʻina Smith, the ʻĀinapreneur program represents an opportunity he had been hoping for over several years. “I am beyond grateful for this wonderful opportunity. This is something that I have been praying for and waiting for, for the last two years. I’m very grateful that this ʻĀinapreneur Program is available and I can be a part of it,” said Smith, a haumāna in the current ʻĀinapreneur cohort.
At the Hōʻike, guests will meet the people behind the businesses, hear their stories and experience firsthand the creativity, resilience and determination driving Hawaiʻi’s local economy. Light refreshments provided.
For ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi, the event marks something larger than the completion of a business program. We are not helping businesses fit into how business is done in Hawaiʻi. We are changing how business is done in Hawaiʻi, and the entrepreneurs on stage are the proof that economic opportunity and cultural integrity do not have to exist separately.
EVENT: ʻĀinapreneur Hōʻike
DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2026
TIME: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
LOCATION: American Job Center Hawaii - Big Island, 88 Kanoelehua Ave Ste A-204, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Media representatives interested in attending or arranging interviews with participating ʻĀinapreneurs are encouraged to contact ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi.
About ʻĀinapreneur
ʻĀinapreneur is a ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi initiative supporting entrepreneurs who want to build strong, sustainable businesses rooted in place, culture, community and purpose. It is not only a business program. It is a different definition of what a good business is in Hawaiʻi: measured by place, people, passion, and profit. Participants receive practical business training, mentorship, relationship-building opportunities, and pathways to capital. Through ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi's emerging Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), graduates of the cohort are also eligible to apply for a business microloan, helping move their ideas from planning into growth while supporting the well-being of ʻohana, community, and ʻāina.
ʻĀinapreneur’s next cohort launching in January 2027. Register here.
About ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi
Changemakers Hawaiʻi is an Emerging Native Community Development Financial Institution and Native Hawaiian-led nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community-driven economic development across Hawaiʻi. The organization strengthens the capacity and sustainability of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous-led organizations through leadership development, nonprofit capacity building, and culturally grounded economic strategies.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Boyette
Communications & Marketing Director Changemakers Hawaiʻi
jenny@changemakershawaii.org
808-769-0730
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