The nonprofit Purple Maiʻa is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The tech-focused organization aims to empower the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s technology problem solvers.
The founders started out wanting to teach Hawaiian youth how to code. Since then, the organization's hopes and ambitions have grown exponentially.
Purple Maiʻa now has an entrepreneurship and design program for local businesses and a workforce training program for entry-level tech jobs.
The Conversation talked to co-founder and co-CEO Donavan Kealoha about blending cultural values with emerging technologies.
"I feel like, again, the way that we were brought up in Hawaiʻi, I think we just have a natural orientation to like solving problems locally, using some ingenuity, some tech tools, our focus on taking care of this place and our people, and that can just turn into incredible economic opportunities," Kealoha said.
Purple Mai’a will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a fundraiser at Capitol Modern on May 25.
"We'll have a number of our companies, little companies who will be sharing in a mākeke their products. I think it's kind of a fishbowl opportunity for folks to just see the cool stuff that's happening, and our hope is that it just continues to expand and grow from there."
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 21, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
