Businessman Ian Taylor wants iwi to start investing in the technology sector to create jobs for young Maori.
The kaupapa has been discussed at the fourth Maori IT meeting.
Mr Taylor, of Ngapuhi and Ngati Kahugunu descent, runs Animation Research Limited, which produces video animations for sporting events.
He said Maori were putting too much into the primary industries, and that it was time to invest in technology, which would help tackle unemployment.
Iwi needed to take control of the technology sector and create businesses and organisations within it which appealed to rangatahi, as meaningful jobs were not going to be made by buying more farms, Mr Taylor said.