Page 34 - IB August 2021

MSMEs MSMEs

NURTURING THE

SEEDS OF

PACIFIC MSMES

By Samantha Magick

Economists used to say that micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) were the backbone of Pacific Island
countries. But as the impact of COVID-related border closures
deepens almost 18 months into the crisis, for some families,
MSMEs are the entire skeleton, the scaffolding holding them
upright and intact in the wake of job losses in tourism and
other sectors.
Pacific governments and their partners are increasingly
acknowledging this, and the need to support the sector.
Since the start of the pandemic, Pacific Trade Invest has Fiji market vendor Photo: UNDP
been surveying SMEs about the impacts of COVID-19. Last
month, PTI Trade and Investment Commissioner (Australia), tutions. Grace periods and interest-only payments were the
Caleb Jarvis said: “the extent and the severity of the pan- most popular offerings, although paying in instalments and
demic on Pacific businesses has remained pretty stable with subsidies also featured.
84% reporting a negative impact.” Economic participation, particularly of women, is something
Jarvis said “women are doing it harder. that Tessa Price as ANZ Bank’s Regional Executive-Pacific
“56% of female led businesses reported having barriers that Islands, is passionate about.
prevent them from actioning initiatives to support their busi- As part of the United Nations Development Program’s
nesses compared to 47% of male led businesses.” response to COVID, the ANZ’s Money Minded Business Basics
In response, PTI worked with sea freight exporters, and program is being offered to female market vendors, entre-
launched a network-wide PTI Freight Assistance Package. It preneurs and small business owners across a number of UNDP
involves small grants to exporters for freight costs, “and it’s supported projects in Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga,
just a very pragmatic way of providing support to businesses,” and Vanuatu. Money Minded Business Basics also runs in Papua
Jarvis said. New Guinea, with more than 2000 MSMEs having completed
“We also do have an Impact Support Programme where the program there.
we are able to provide small, targeted business grants to “What we do a lot of work on the Pacific is talking to people
businesses to help them continue to grow and scale up and about savings, budgeting, home ownership and small business
unblock the challenges that they’ve identified.” PTI has also as well, because it’s a combined effort,” Price says.
done a “huge digital pivot”, offering webinars to improve “Governments across the Pacific have provided money into
skills around e-commerce, social media finance, and digital this sector to help them set up businesses, or have provided
solutions. them with marketplace…so that it’s safe and secure and hy-
Business Link Pacific, which has also been offering grants gienic for people to sell their wares, etc. There’s a lot of work
and training for SMEs, carried out a similar survey in June that’s been done there.
which reflected PTI’s findings. “It’s clear that COVID-19 had “It’s all of us working together in partnership on it.”
a devastating impact on the majority of SMEs surveyed and
that further support is needed to ensure businesses adapt and National efforts
recover in this region,” the report states. “A large majority, In the region’s largest economy, the Small and Medium
86.3%, of respondents said they have seen a decrease in their Enterprises Corporation of Papua New Guinea is preparing to
business revenue, with over half indicating that their revenue launch its new strategy next month aligned with the govern-
had dropped by 40% or more.” ment’s goal of supporting half a million SMEs to set up by
BLP says SMEs used a combination of strategies over the 2030. SME Corp CEO, John Pora says this effort will be built
past year including: “borrowing from friends and family, work- on three pillars: integration, communication, and people, pro-
ing remotely, increasing marketing efforts, applying for loans cesses and performance, and will involve the establishment of
or grants, and customising/creating new products. Many have provincial business incubation centres.
laid-off employees and moved into online sales.” Meanwhile in Vanuatu, V- Lab’s Bisnis Nakamal recently
BLP also asked businesses about access to finance, with launched. In association with Breadfruit Consulting and with
54.4% of respondents saying they had taken advantage of support from Wanfuteng Bank, Bisnis Nakamal starts with
financial assistance provided by banks or other financial insti- the “Seed Haos” where entrepreneurs are assisted through

34 Islands Business, August 2021