Young wahine Māori rises to franchise ownership

A young wahine Māori is integrating te ao Māori into her business after becoming a Pizza Hut franchisee at 22 years of age.

Starting work at Pizza Hut at the age of 15, with no CV and just a handwritten note, Caitlyn Lewin (Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri and Rangitāne o Wairau) first began washing dishes three days a week. 

From washing dishes, she moved on to become a duty manager while juggling high school - and representing New Zealand at softball - and became a store manager at 19. She is now a proud franchisee, aged 22.

Caitlin plans on using her franchise ownership as a platform to celebrate her Māori whakapapa, installing signage in te reo Māori and hoping other franchisees follow suit. 

For more, read this article by RNZ.