COOK ISLANDS: Air Rarotonga first to sign up for new initiative

Helping other local businesses while also helping themselves, Air Rarotonga has become the first Cook Islands Business Advisory Service Provider (BASP) to be registered and approved on the Business Link Pacific (BLP) online portal.

BLP is a New Zealand-funded private sector development programme set up to help support small and medium-sized local enterprises (those with 5-50 employees) in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Once assessed and approved by BLP, BASPs like Air Rarotonga are then able to offer their expertise to Cook Islands businesses in need of professional support at a cost subsidised by up to 50 per cent – or up to 100 per cent if the work is related to helping a business survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BLP initiative allows Air Rarotonga to generate a much-needed additional income stream by hiring out the services of their financial team, while those Cook Islands businesses taking advantage of the airline’s expertise pay a lower rate – or in some cases nothing at all – for the cost of those services.

Headed by chief financial officer Anand Naidu, Air Rarotonga’s experienced financial team now offers a variety of professional services to Cook Islands businesses, including business strategy development, risk management, financial health checks and tax advice.

It’s an opportunity to give back to those businesses who are struggling during this time and to help them come out of this COVID-19 nightmare,” says Naidu. “This initiative allows businesses to get the support that they need to be able to fight another day.”

Professional services are in need right now and the ability for people to use them through this initiative from Business Link Pacific and the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce is great. What we are doing is utilising our skills to support those who need assistance.”

As an approved BLP advisor himself, Naidu encourages others to get onboard with the programme as well.

Businesses need support in different areas, especially now,” he says. “If you have clients, they can benefit from this. Contact the team at the Chamber of Commerce and they can assist with the registration process.”