Mana meets Machine: Māori Voices in Tech

Tam Roberts is Head of Business Development at BlinkPay NZ, a Māori-founded fintech pioneering open banking in Aotearoa. With extensive experience in business development across the IT and SaaS sectors, Tam has a proven track record in sales, business planning, and people management. He leads BlinkPay’s growth strategy, building partnerships with banks, enterprises, and councils to expand adoption of secure, bank-approved payment solutions. Tam combines commercial expertise with a strong commitment to trust, inclusion, and innovation, helping make payments easier, safer, and more accessible for all New Zealanders.

Maru Nihoniho is a game designer and producer passionate about Indigenous storytelling. She believes culture-based games are powerful tools for engagement, learning, and connection. As founder of Metia Interactive, she has written, designed, and developed Māori games including Tākaro (teaching coding concepts), Sparx (teaching rangatahi to manage depression), Māori Pā Wars (a strategic tower defense). She is also the creator and producer of Guardian Maia, an epic tale of a Māori woman navigating a dystopian Aotearoa. Maru’s goal is to create meaningful, culturally rich games that share unique stories with an authentic Indigenous voice.