Tevita knows business in Savai’i – that’s an understatement!
As a Business Advisor with the Samoan Business Hub for over 18 years, Tevita Tariu Sinapati has worked with hundreds of businesses on the island of Savai’i, Samoa. Yeah, he laughs: “I think I know every business in Savai’i – I know everything about Savai’i.”
Now with his own business Island Edge Consulting, he’s starting a new phase in his career.
So what motivates Tevita?
“For me, when I see a local enterprise close – it gives me motivation. I want to see businesses continue and empower business for sustainable growth – strengthening the Savai’i community.
Tevita recently joined the BLP advisor network as an approved advisor. He says being part of the BLP network means he can provide subsidised advisory services to qualifying Savai’i businesses and connects him to more clients in Samoa and the wider Pacific.
Tevita is an approved BLP advisor in Strategy & Business Planning, Financing & Loan Facilitation, Business Coaching & Training.
He says one of the most important skills he provides to businesses and entrepreneurs in Savai’i is structured business planning. He sees this need particularly amongst young entrepreneurs.
“There’s a real growth in young entrepreneurs in Savai’i. I’ve been approached by a number of youth (12-35 years) wanting to see specific training for young people on how to set up businesses. They have so many business ideas but need training support in business planning to put it into practice. They are from the digital age – confident in e-commerce and marketing. Most of the people who can email are youth – they are tech savvy which is major advantage. They are young, they are motivated.”
Starting his career, Tevita gained formal qualifications with a bachelor’s degrees in arts, as well as economics & management. Since then, he has continued to expand his formal qualifications. He is a certified professional business advisor under the Australian Institute of Advisors and a certified national trainer with the Samoa International Labour Organisation.
Amongst the challenges facing SMEs in Savai’i are that many struggle to access finance and need training in financial literacy and budgeting. Tevita says to secure finance there are collateral requirements and people need to submit statements and planning/business documentations.
“Women make up a large percentage of business owners in Savai’i but struggle to scale their businesses due to difficulties accessing finance, gaining land ownership and social pressures to prioritise community needs over profit.”
Tevita says Savai’i has evolved over the last few years. “It’s great to see the economy rebound in economic activity after COVID. You can see it coming back to life now after the reopening of borders – tourism revitalisation even growing as recently as December.”
The tourism sector is the backbone of Savai’i economy. Tavita says the number of operations is less than 20%, but its contribution to the economy is perhaps around 40-50%. However, he says tourism operators are still struggling to finance the maintenance and renovations to their buildings. So even though the borders are open the tourist sector is still difficult for operators.
Another change in the community is improved agriculture practices, with new people joining the community and sharing their experiences with locals, improving their sustainability.
Tevita says the agriculture sector, with crops such as taro and coconut, have bounced back since the pandemic. The sector coped comparatively well during this time, as the industry was used to dealing with crisis such as with cyclones.
“They knew what to do – they shifted their focus to supply local markets as opposed to export markets. Since the opening of the borders, they’ve shifted back to exports although it is still in a recovery phase.” He says in rural areas, infrastructure and transport businesses still face logistic challenges affecting the supply chain products to market.
Digital enhancement is helping productivity in Savai’i. The arrival of a new internet cable to Savai’i instituted by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has improved communications. Although digital connection has improved with many online tools, there is a lack of technology adoption as people need training on how to use them.
Joining BLP he is looking forward to working within the BLP network of advisors and continuing his professional development.
Interested in becoming a BLP approved advisor? Talk to one of our in-country partners, go to: https://about.businesslinkpacific.com/countries/
Or go to the BLP website: https://about.businesslinkpacific.com/the-business-advisor-network/
BLP facilitates access to business advisory services and financial support. As an SME you can start your journey with BLP by self-assessing your needs with our free online tools to help diagnose areas in your businesses that an advisor could improve.
The first step can be the online Business Health Check. You can also check your business’s resilience to respond to crises or climate change challenges on the Business Continuity Planner and the Climate Action Sensor. If you prefer to meet a local BLP representative in person to discuss your business, get in touch with our local partners to arrange a face-to-face Diagnostic.