Build Hawaiʻi

Our Mission

Hawaiʻi's small businesses are being left behind by AI. Hawaiʻi's young people are leaving because they don't see opportunity here. Build Hawaiʻi solves both problems at the same time.

We pair youth builders (ages 14–18) with local small businesses in an 8-week cohort program. The kid is the AI expert. The business owner is the domain expert. Neither could do it without the other. Together, they build something real.

Every cohort is built around one unit: the Builder Pair. A young builder brings energy, curiosity, and technical instinct with AI tools. A local business owner brings domain knowledge, real problems, and community roots.

The output is always the same: a working AI-powered tool or workflow the business can use the day the cohort ends. Not a pitch deck. Not a prototype. A real thing that works.

• No winners. No losers. Every team ships. This is not a competition.
• Mixed ages on purpose. A 15-year-old and a 45-year-old business owner working together is a feature, not a bug.
• Hawaiʻi problems only. Every project connects to a local issue, a local business, a local community.
• The metric is "did you build something real?"

We chose an English-first name intentionally. Hawaiian language naming would only be appropriate through deep, earned partnership with Hawaiian cultural institutions like Kamehameha Schools or the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Until that relationship exists, we honor the culture by not appropriating it.

Build Hawaiʻi was founded by Brent Akamine in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The program is community-driven and mission-first.

Questions? Reach out at hello@buildhawaii.org