Fish, the family dish
Fishing is a big industry in the Solomon Islands, with local consumption amongst the highest in the world. For the people catching the fish, the hard work is often getting it to market, and that’s where Divesta Poza, owner of Tava Enterprises, comes in.
Tava Enterprises buys fresh-caught raw fish from suppliers in rural areas and sells to retail outlets in urban areas, organising the refrigeration and transport for the supplier, often travelling by boat to pick up the cleaned catch to ensure maximum freshness to retail clients.
Aware that demand for fish is very high and likely to stay that way, Divesta hopes to increase Tava’s market share through consultation with community leaders, discussion with potential new clients such as schools, restaurants and prison catering services, and updating equipment.
When Divesta saw information about BLP and the Adaptation Grant on social media, he thought he would “give that a go”. He had never applied for funding from anywhere before and successfully completed the application process on his own.
The Grant has been used for new equipment necessary for the smooth operation of this wholesale fishery business. That meant a new set of mobile coolers and a refrigeration unit and a new outboard motor to replace an old unreliable motor.
Divesta says:
Since we received the grant, we have made quite a few changes to the business which has helped to increase revenue as much as 15% from the previous quarter, and we are now looking to increase the number of casual employees in the Provinces.
Before applying for the Adaptation Grant, Divesta was a frequent visitor to BLP’s website. He is motivated by the stories he reads there; he has used the Continuity Planner tool to refine his future plans and has found the recommendations from BLP very helpful.
Thank you BLP, it’s hard to get good quality advice in remote places like this, so it’s great knowing there’s this sort of help available for small businesses like mine, adds Divesta.
The Finance Facility enables access to capital for stabilisation, recovery and growth of viable but financially distressed businesses in the Pacific Islands due to the impact of COVID-19 on the regional economy.
The Facility opened applications to Business Adaptation Grants across eight Pacific Island countries in January and June 2021. Adaptation Grants have benefitted over 200 businesses to date, and Business Link Pacific is currently processing a similar number of grants to be disbursed before the end of the year.
To further support recovery and growth, Business Link Pacific is negotiating key partnerships with Financial Institutions to offer concessionary lending to small businesses in the region and will soon make information available on accessing those products. The Finance Facility also offers curated information about financial products for businesses on its free online tool, the Finance Finder; visit today to find out what is available to your business right now.