About
Kūkolu

Kūkolu exists because Native Hawaiian women entrepreneurs are powerful beyond measure - and they deserve a space that nurtures that.

We are an incubator, a backbone, and a community. We support Native Hawaiian and Indigenous women entrepreneurs from idea to operating business, artists and creatives who want trusted support so they can focus on their craft, and nonprofits and organizations building the infrastructure our ecosystem needs to thrive.

As Indigenous peoples, we derive strength from our genealogy, using the past to shape the present and inspire our future. Our mission is to empower our communities by drawing upon their strengths to cultivate economic growth.

Kūkolu was born in November 2020 — not from a business plan, but from a phone call. And then another. And then dozens more.

When COVID-19 hit, we kept hearing from Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs who were struggling and trying to figure out how to survive. We saw programs out there - accelerators, incubators, funding opportunities - but they all had barriers. Criteria that assumed you were already further along. Structures that weren't built for the way Native Hawaiian women move through the world.

So we built something different.

Not an accelerator, an incubator. The distinction matters. An accelerator expects you to arrive already baked. Kūkolu starts from wherever you actually are. And from the beginning, two things were non-negotiable: safety, and presence. A space where a Native Hawaiian woman's voice mattered more than any curriculum, and a team that supports, honors, respects, and believes in you.

What started as a single cohort on Oʻahu has grown into a multi-island movement. Graduates have come back as mentors, networks have become ecosystems, and the vision is clearer than ever.

Not just stronger businesses. A stronger lāhui.

Kūpa'a. Kūpono. Kūpū.

This is Kūkolu.