Building Digital Skills, Equity & Opportunity For The People Of Hawaii

Building Digital SkillsEquityOpportunity For The People Of Hawaii

Māpunawai exists to bridge the digital divide and build economic opportunities for Hawaii residents through programs that

1) Address digital equity (i.e. providing devices, skills development, and broadband internet access)

2) Provide training that teach people how to build and grow online business leveraging the internet for economic opportunities

Our Friends & Partners

Access To Digital Equity Leads To
Economic Resilience

Our goal is to build foundational computer skills, ensure everyone has access to devices and broadband internet in order to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the online world: remote work, online businesses, advancement in current careers, investing and more!

Digital Ready Hawaii

Our foundational computer skills program teaches computer basics designed to increase comfort and students online ASAP.

Learn About DRH
Online Entrepreneurship

Our flagship program has proven that ANYONE can become an entrepreneur with the right guidance and systems.

Learn about O.E. Mentoring

Learn More About The Growing Māpunawai Team

Between our 26 Computer Skills Trainers, 3 Entrepreneurship Specialists and our knowledgeable and experienced Board Of Directors, Māpunawai is ready to tackle the challenges of digital inequality statewide.

“We Don’t Work With Entrepreneurs, We Build Them!”

If you have a strong set of basic computer skills and the desire to build something that can improve the quality of you and your ohana’s lives, you have what it takes to start your own online business! The best business model for a first time entrepreneur is the Fulfilment By Amazon (FBA) model! No business experience or product ideas needed to start.

Have A Handmade Or Made In Hawaii Product?

Join us for our Etsy Handmade Mentorship program! Our team will guide you from start to finish. From getting your shop up and taking your first sale, to optimizing your product listings, SEO and building a legitimate business- we have you covered!

Check Out Our IG Feed!

Just a few of the many photos we've taken over the years 😄
All of us trainers gave a 3-minute impromptu speech on a topic of our choice, resulting in lessons on baking chocolate chip cookies, washing a tiny dog, and giving a compliment sandwich 🥪
Tonight, this cohort of trainers faced a common fear: public speaking! We spent 2.5 hours focusing not on content, but on mastering delivery and reinforcing the core values of our classes 🙌
Introducing the driving force behind Māpunawai, our founder, Kaʻala Souza! He recognized the critical need for digital literacy in our community, seeing it as a gateway to numerous opportunities Kaʻala says, “You might not realize that computer classes are the pathway to workforce development. With Hawai’i’s high cost of living, it’s difficult to make extra money without computer skills. You won't know how to sell on Amazon or Etsy or find additional income, so you have to leave the state. Our goal is to equip people with digital skills to help keep people from the Islands in the Islands." Kaʻala’s dedication and astounding work earned him the 2023 Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year! His vision and leadership continue to inspire our mission and drive our efforts to create a more digitally empowered community 🙌
While we do ask for written feedback from our students, nothing beats talking story with them after class! Recently a student said, "usually I'm given just enough to survive, and then they forget about me. But you are doing something I've never seen before. You got us good laptops and mouses when you could have given us ones that are junk and hard to use. It shows that you actually care about us."
Māpunawai enriches not only our students, but our trainers too! We get the exceptional chance to visit places we typically wouldn't access In 2022, we were honored to visit the sacred grounds of Kalaupapa, where we had the pleasure of meeting and training the staff of the Kalaupapa National Historical Park 🤙
A very exciting week at Māpunawai! Kaʻala and Isaia were overseeing classes, while our trainers gained experience assisting and leading their own 😄 As a trainer myself, teaching in front of Kaʻala and Isaia can be nerve-wracking because of their unmatched expertise, dynamism, and engaging presence. But we strive to keep improving so we can make them and this program proud💪 Here are some snippets of those classes at Anchor Church and the Hilo Foster Grandparents Program!
Facing unique barriers to using a computer? No problem! In our computer classes, we work with you to address your specific needs ☺️
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