During MSME Day, the United Nations celebrates the contribution of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to the world’s economy. These businesses account for a massive 90% of businesses, up to 70% of employment and 50% of GDP worldwide. MSME Day is a UN initiative that responds to a need for increasing awareness about MSME contributions to the economy and society and their need to become resilient.
In the same way that it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a business community to grow a business. Access to support, finance, guidance and business knowledge from experienced business owners, advisors, mentors, government agencies and private business associations is necessary for businesses to flourish.
Business Link Pacific works with a strong business community, a Network of experienced professionals and organisations who work with MSMEs to facilitate access to advisory and financial services.
In celebration of MSME Day in 2023, BLP caught up with representatives of the Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and two of the prominent women-led business advisors in the Network – Pandanus Consulting and Narara Consulting. With these interviews, we aim to showcase the valuable work and contributions of all the BLP Networks across the Pacific region to the MSME sector.
The Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) is an essential organisation in the country dedicated to supporting and training business owners, particularly MSMEs. The Chamber provides BLP diagnostic services to MSMEs and connects these businesses to BLP quality-approved advisors.
Working towards business resilience and growth goals, VCCI representatives Katrina Sali in Port Vila and Candyce Simeon in Santo – both Vanuatu locals – recently completed their training to be BLP’s Business Service Managers. The first training session covered BLP’s processes and the online tools they will use for business diagnostics. In this important role, they will reach deeper into Vanuatu’s business community than has previously been possible.
VCCI aims to extend BLP services, particularly in the outer islands where most businesses fall into the ‘micro’ category of one or two-person enterprises. Hence, BLP now has a full-time representation in Santo. Based on the island, Candyce expects this will be a big bonus for business on the outer islands.
In Vila, Katrina will utilise an extensive database of businesses that have attended workshops and participated in programs run by the Chamber to identify businesses which need assistance. Working towards a quarterly target, the Chamber anticipates that most new clients will come from Santo and the previously untapped outer islands.
Katrina and Candyce are excited about this new aspect of their existing roles, which draws the Chamber and BLP closer together. They are currently working on ways to market BLP services and bring new business advisors into the Network.
Since 2017, Vanuatu has developed a BLP quality-assured Network of 32 local advisory service firms. The Network provides services including accounting and finance, marketing, and technology services to SME clients.
The BLP Network in Vanuatu has provided services worth 961,181 NZD, with a significant investment of over 373,000 NZD made by individual businesses. Through BLP, the New Zealand Government has provided 216 subsidies to businesses in Vanuatu with 1 to 50 employees, out of which 126 have female owners. On average, a BLP subsidy will cover 50% of the total cost of the business services.
The Network offers 15 areas of business advice through a diverse group of advisors, such as Jackie Potgieter and Nicky Barnes, owners of Pandanus Consulting. They first engaged with BLP in 2017, offering various business services such as graphic design, project management, and marketing. Jackie notes, “Clients we have helped through the VCCI or BLP have been very appreciative of the support and have continued to use Pandanus without BLP’s subsidy. They would never have had access to this service otherwise.”
A second arm – Jackie quips, many arms and many hats are needed to do business in Vanuatu – to the business is the development of a free island map – HOTSPOTS VANUATU – available anywhere tourists can be found, whether that is the airport, hotels, cruise ships, or shops and cafes.
Approaching BLP to co-fund production of the first HOTSPOTS VANUATU map for Santo, Tanna and the Islands, Jackie claims, 29 clients directly benefitted from the 30,000 maps distributed to tourists. The map includes advertisements for many micro businesses, often run by women who cannot market their businesses themselves. COVID-19 hit just a couple of months later, so another Islands Map has not been printed since 2020, but an updated map is now in production.
Port Vila businesswoman and entrepreneur Velenie Jacob joined the BLP Network in May 2023. Her business, Narara Consulting, offers coaching in financial literacy and business skills to individuals and MSMEs primarily operating in the informal sector.
Having worked in the financial industry for ten years, Velenie observed first-hand the constraints people experienced when asked to provide financial reports to back up loan applications. Seeing a gap in knowledge common to many business owners, in 2021, Velenie took to social media to open a conversation about money – what had previously been a taboo subject.
During this time, she also participated in a business incubation programme run by V-Lab, also a BLP-approved advisor and partner. In partnership with two other women, Leisau Lakeleo and Primrose Toro, Velenie established a business specialising in setting up Xero software for local businesses. The demand for this service was high, with many people reaching out to ask questions and gain knowledge, so Velenie decided to target this audience through Narara Consulting. She now combines training and coaching, tailoring her offering to suit her clients’ technical expertise, financial means, and comfort level.
“I was announced as a business advisor by BLP in May 2023, and this has been a great honour for me. I could now extend my support further to MSMEs and have a greater impact on them, possibly moving them from informal to formal business.”
Velenie continues to engage with her following of over 15,000 people on social media, primarily Facebook, providing business information and motivational quotes to encourage her followers to reach out if they need help.
The BLP Network in Vanuatu is a well-established and quality-approved group of professionals working hard to reach businesses and help them to succeed and grow. The Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the local BLP Business Advisory Service Network, offering training and diagnostic and referral services to MSMEs across the archipelago. Combined, the two are a strong foundation for a growing, supportive business ecosystem that can accommodate more partners and enable a sustainable and resilient private sector.
As in Vanuatu, there are various BLP Networks across the Pacific Region supporting MSMEs in Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga, and these are extending to four new countries: Nauru, Niue, Tokelau and Tuvalu.
BLP wants to say thank you to those Networks, their chambers, supporting organisations, and their clients. Happy MSME Day!