Angle Productions reaches a new market and becomes BLP quality approved
Ine and Tim Sosene of Angle Productions are among the many business owners that redirected their creativity to find ways to stay afloat during the pandemic. Heavily reliant on Tourism, the once thriving locally owned and operated business in the Cook Islands photographed an average of 150 weddings a year pre Covid-19, with 95% of their bookings made by visitors. With travel uncertainty and restrictions, border closures and a dwindling ability for locals to afford the usually desirable service, the photography and videography business was hit hard.
We lost all our business overnight and with that also went our primary income and our livelihoods,” said Ine.
Wedding photography by Angle Productions
Ine scrambled to find ways to keep their family business of 10+ years afloat. During her research online she found information about Business Link Pacific’s (BLP) services. BLP connects small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to good quality, reliable business advisory services. BLP works to improve and promote local business advisory service networks available to SMEs to help them access quality services that are responsive to their needs.
The BLP Network of business advisors is a regional hub of 180 firms that expands throughout eight Pacific Islands, including the Cook Islands and offers SME-focused services.
BLP also manages the SME Finance Facility (SME FF), set up in 2020 to support viable SMEs impacted by COVID. The SME FF facilitates access to adaptation grants (for business recovery) and concessional lending (for business growth), in combination with business advisory services.
Angle Productions accessed an Adaptation Grant, which allowed them to become more competitive locally, taking on new clients and opening their portfolio.
We’ve completely re-invented our business approach and business market. No longer putting all our eggs in one basket (visitors), we now have strong local and international clientele which gives us the opportunities that we didn’t have pre-covid,” an excited Ine explains.
The Adaptation Grant allowed the husband and wife team to reinvest in their business by upgrading their hardware and technical software to allow for faster turnaround time and greater productivity, something they could not do pre Covid-19.
Filming and animation at Angle productions are now part of its key offerings
With the ability to diversify their offerings to the local and international markets thanks to the grant, Angle Productions has successfully regained stability during a time of continued uncertainty. Now boasting a clientele that includes the Asian Development Bank and the Cook Islands Ministry of Health, Ine encourages other SME’s to explore the support available through BLP.
Don’t be shy! The possibilities are endless!”, Ine explains, referencing her own experience with applying for the Adaptation Grant as well as becoming a registered Business Advisor.
Having successfully completed BLP’s competency process, Angle Productions is now recognised as a quality service provider in their field, with the ability to offer their photography and videography services at a subsidised rate to other SMEs who fit the criteria. Interested SMEs can get in contact with the business via the BLP website by typing their name on the searching business advisor tool.
BLP features 13 other Cook Islands Business Advisory Service Providers. The BLP Network of Business Advisors can offer their services at a subsidised rate through BLP and its subsidy scheme, designed to make services more affordable, removing risk and facilitating greater access to reliable and quality services for SMEs. “The BLP Business Advisors are great to work with and we’re all SME’s so we understand what it is like to be on the other end as well”, said Ine encouraging others to tap into the services offered or, if in a position to provide a service themselves, register to become a quality approved Business Advisor.
Ensuring that only quality services are offered through the network, all potential advisors undergo a quality competency assessment process, identifying their core skills and experience, and removing the uncertainty of finding quality business advice. To register as an advisor in the Cook Islands, contact your in-country BLP representative at [email protected]
For more information about BLP and the Pacific SME Finance Facility in the Cook Islands, businesses can send an enquiry to [email protected] or visit the website https://businesslinkpacific.com to access the free SME Toolkit.