Raeworx Trade Vehicles in Tonga grow thanks to BLP Adaptation Grant!
Gazing out the office window at Raeworx Ltd’s trade vehicles – the oldest registered in 1998, the youngest in 2009 – part owner and chief administrator Melesia Palu just knew something was going to give, and probably sooner than later.
Soon after, Melesia noticed an advertisement on Facebook for Business Link Pacific’s Adaptation Grant. Her first thought was,
Wow, but we are never going to get that.
She had never applied for any funding before and was delighted to get through the first stage of the application and even more delighted to then receive the grant.
Raeworx is an established business providing air conditioning, refrigeration and electrical services to commercial businesses and homeowners, but their main trade is with government agencies, providing regular service to Tonga’s Departments of Revenue and Tourism and the Public Service Commission. It doesn’t sound like a small business, but Raeworx is lean. It employs just nine technicians, all trained and reliable, including two young apprentices completing their training at the Tonga Institute of Science and Technology. All current employees started as apprentices at Raeworx, and many more apply than Raeworx can provide quality training for.
Raeworx staff with the new van purchased with a BLP Adaptation Grant
Raeworx is busy, in fact Melesia says,
After the eruption, we had more work than we could handle with dust causing air conditioning failures. And Covid meant lockdowns and no work being done but wages and other expenses continuing to flow out of the bank account.
The grant from BLP was used to purchase one new vehicle and tools, and plans are on hold for a second new vehicle, at least until Raeworx recovers from the Covid-related downturn.
We want another new vehicle to grow our fleet. That would mean we could have another team on the ground servicing clients. We want to fund this second new vehicle through cash flow, so will wait a few months more until we can do that.
Melesia runs an organised office, taking advice to prepare monthly accounts and handle taxes. This means most of the information was readily to hand for her application.
It was quite a straightforward process, and I’m glad we had our financials in order. I don’t know why more small businesses didn’t apply – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, plus it costs nothing! If you don’t have your financials in order, BLP provides assistance to get there.
Raeworx is truly grateful to BLP for the Adaptation Grant. Melesia notes,
Even though I was certain I wouldn’t be chosen, I’m really glad I decided to give it a go. It has made a significant difference in our business already.
ENDS
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.