Business Link Pacific in 2019: Top 10 Highlights

2019 was huge for Business Link Pacific. We reached important milestones and facilitated the expansion of the BLP business advisor networks in Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

None of this work would be possible without the dedicated collaboration of multiple organisations, our in-country partners; Samoa Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Fiji Commerce & Employers Federation. Thanks also to our colleagues in every New Zealand High Commission, especially,  Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. 

Many thanks to BLP’s team, community and network for the ongoing commitment and dedication to supporting growing businesses across the region. 

Here is our countdown of the top 10 highlights of 2019:

10. Launched the Business Link Pacific programme in Samoa in January 2019 and profiled Miracle Marketing, BDO Samoa, Isitolo Leota Chartered Accountants. 

9. Established four new partnerships with strong brands; yher Pacific, SmoothPay goPayroll, Tower Insurance’s Pacific Leadership team and The Gap. 

8. Recorded and launched our first ever BLP Podcast series featuring a range of Pacific and New Zealand-based business experts from our advisor network.

7. Met with and established a new working relationship with the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Council of Fiji. 

6. Attended XeroCon 2019 in Brisbane with four members of our business advisory network who won tickets in our XeroCon competition. 

5. Supported businesses to address their digital needs through training, access to software or step-by-step strategies to developing an online presence or enter new markets. We documented this progress through a series of articles of the Digital Transformation occurring in the Pacific islands in partnership with BLP approved business advisors, Pacific Digital Transformation Consulting Limited,  Pandanus Consulting and Webmedia South Pacific. 

4. Significantly increased the number of people in the Business Link Pacific community across the Pacific region, both as users of BLP’s services and followers of our social media networks. 

3. Business Consultants Emma Crawford-Falekaono, Laura Mason, Marney Price and Barbara Wilkinson hosted MYOB & Xero: Focusing on efficiency and Leadership workshops in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu for SME business owners and business advisors. 

2. We enjoyed great media coverage from both in-country and regional media outlets including coverage of our Portal launch by Radio New Zealand, Tangata Pasifika and BLP Director Steve Knapp in an interview with Fiji TV in October to report on the progress of the BLP Portal since its launch. 

1. Created and built the Business Link Pacific Portal, an online platform designed to efficiently connect small and medium sized businesses with Pacific based business advisory service providers. The Portal was launched in a successful multi-country event in August 2019.