Nicola Nation

Nicola has a strong sense of social justice and combines her corporate and legal expertise to use business as a model for good. She is passionate about combining business models and positive impact to deliver social and environmental change. With more than 15 years’ experience in public and private sector consulting, including roles at MBIE, Kiwibank and Deloitte, Nicola now uses her expertise to accelerate the success of social enterprises. Nicola is a strong advocate for social procurement, impact investment and capacity building for impact-led and purpose-driven businesses and organisations. She has held senior procurement roles in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, most recently at the World Bank. Having been with The Ākina Foundation since 2018, Nicola started as Tumu Whakarae in October 2021 and is proud to lead a talented and passionate Ākina team on a journey to create positive change in people’s lives and for our planet. Nicola holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. The Ākina Foundation is a social enterprise which aims to transform the economy by working alongside government, businesses, iwi and community-led organisations to put positive social and environmental impact at the heart of our economy.