The power of partnership & BLP’s GESI strategy in Vanuatu
Since the beginning, Business Link Pacific has worked hard to recognise and address the critical role that Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) plays within all spheres and contexts when working with SMEs in the Pacific.
BLP integrates GESI into its services by partnering with key organisations, such as V-Lab (Vanuatu’s first business and ideas incubator working hand in hand with Yumiwork, Port Vila’s first co-working space) to ensure that they are equipped and supported to lead in integrating GESI throughout their activities and in all their interactions with SMEs.
Today’s blog is about Velene Jacob, who has come through several V-Lab incubator programs to launch her own financial management business alongside two other women; Primrose Toro and Leisau Lakeleo. Their story is one that not only highlights the power of partnership and the GESI strategy in action but also why supporting women entrepreneurs is great for the larger economy and community.
Velene Jacob coaching at V-Lab
It was a shared commitment to supporting Vanuatu’s informal sector through accessible financial management that inspired Velenie Jacob to join with Primrose Toro and Leisau Lakeleo and launch Lokol Akaonting Solusen, an accounting business, in August 2020.
The three women, like many other female entrepreneurs, balance a range of responsibilities at the same time as establishing their new venture.
Velenie says: We’re mothers as well and managing the home and this business as well as having a full-time job is very challenging. We just started and we depend on our full-time employment to finance some things in the business.”
The trio has benefited from the incubator coaches’ input from V-Lab, which has opened them up to new ideas and opportunities.
Velenie says she has also enjoyed working and learning alongside other entrepreneurs such as Eric Vatoko who has ignited local demand for his hospitality venue and James Rory who started developing a new app to connect Vanuatu artists with paying music audiences after coming through the V-Lab program, which was subsidised by BLP’s GESI strategy.
From right to left: James Rory, Velenie Jacob and Eric Vatoko with one of V-Lab’s coaches
The V-Lab program and coaches help entrepreneurs and business owners to see things from a different perspective because most of the time we’re looking at things from this angle, but not looking at it from the other angle,” she says.
Participating in the incubator programme has given Velenie a big confidence boost.
Most of the time people view women as you know, you can’t do this, you can’t do that but through these programmes, I feel very confident now. I just feel like nobody’s going to stop me,” added Velene.
V-Lab has also unlocked new professional pathways in training and education for women.
I’ve been here as an incubbee and they’ve identified me as a trainer so I’m also doing some of the financial management training. You’ll never know what you can do unless you try. That’s my message to anyone who’s wanting to take the stand or take the walk of an entrepreneur,” reports Velene.
V-Lab seeks to provide access to facilities, services and mentoring to young entrepreneurs in Vanuatu with a view to enable them to develop and grow their business and ideas as well as to promote entrepreneurship in the country. Supported by Business Link Pacific and the GESI Subsidy V-Lab has been focusing on providing expert training to elevate small businesses led by women, youth and indigenous people.
BLP’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Subsidy, is a service tailored to small businesses, led by women, youth, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups in PNG, Fiji, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa.
Small businesses, led by women, youth, indigenous peoples or other groups typically experience additional barriers to business growth due to a number of factors. These include, but are not limited to illiteracy, lack of access to training/education, lack of access to finance, poor business management skills, limited access to networks to help grow their businesses and other cultural factors that impede their mobility and opportunities for advancement. BLP’s GESI strategy focuses on further improving capacity and access to essential business advisory services for these groups.
For more information about projects supported by the GESI subsidy read our latest blog here