$1.3 million dollars in scholarships are up for grabs, for Māori and Pasifika people, wanting to develop their skills in e-commerce.
Scholarships are being offered, by 'Te Whare Hukahuka', for its online programme called 'Ka hao i te ao', to increase the disposable household income of students, who participate.
Boxing legend and business owner, Shane Cameron, has completed the course, and as well as running a gym, he has his own brand called Counterpunch, selling boxing products and services online.
“Doing the e-commerce course with ‘Ka hao i te ao’ has changed things massively for the business, in many ways,” he says.
Cameron claims that taking the ‘Ka hao I te ao' course helped him gain confidence in his business by teaching him all the tricks of the trade in sales, digital marketing, new product development, analytics, and website design and says, “if you're not getting challenged I believe you're not growing.”
Cameron believes the skills he's obtained to better grasp his e-commerce awareness include knowing how to drive sales by boosting traffic to your website and knowing "Who is your client avatar?" “Who is your ideal customer?” He also claims that target marketing allows you to locate your "perfect consumer," which saves money on advertising.
“Travis O'Keefe, who's the founder of ‘Ka hao i te ao’ is a very smart man, he's very kind with passing on his knowledge.”
Cameron also says that the course has given him the confidence to ask for help because not doing so hindered his business.
“As part of the 12-week program, you certainly get pushed outside your comfort zone with comfort challenges that you don't feel like doing...and each week they have experts that come in and they give you advice on the questions that you might have... you're in a team of like-minded people, everyone wants to get into that same space.”