Pacific Briefs
American Samoa There’s new hope for American Samoans stranded in the United States since the territory’s borders closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. More than 500 people are estimated to be
20 Years of Investing in Pacific Women
20 years ago, serial social entrepreneur Greg Casagrande made his first foray into the Pacific Islands, setting up the South Pacific Business Development (SPBD) Samoa operations with the aim of helping women in need to
ADB further downgrades Pacific growth expectations
Economic growth expectations for the Pacific have been downgraded to decline by 6.1% for 2020. The Asian Development Bank had originally forecast a 4.3% decline in July of this year. “Vaccine procurement and
Pacific remittances remain buoyant despite the pandemic
Early this year as borders closed, and the depth and severity of the impact of the coronavirus on Pacific island economies became evident, experts predicted a dramatic decline in remittances to our region. In revised
Language fluency and mental disorders
A study of Pacific mothers in New Zealand reveals that being fluent in both English and Pacific languages may decrease the likelihood of postpartum mental disorders. English-and-Pacific speaking mothers had the lowest
InDepth with Greg Casagrande
South Pacific Business Development founder, Greg Casagrande is a “serial social entrepreneur”, founding not only the SPBD microfinance network 20 years ago, but also MicroDreams, a microfinance acceleration fund,
Pacific Business briefs
Free Bird Limited has signed a contract with Air New Zealand to bring its international students back to Fiji on 27 December 2020. Chief Operating Officer, Mereseini Baleilevuka said, “This is a great
BSP on par with global peers, indicates ASX listing interest, eyes Australasia
Papua New Guinea’s regional bank BSP will revisit an earlier plan to list on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). In a message to shareholders last week informing them on the progress of the company, BSP Group
Customs revenue badly hit by COVID
The decline in revenue collections for governments through its border agencies was a major topic of discussion at the Oceania Customs Organisation’s 22nd Annual Conference, held virtually for the first time in its
Fiame’s new chapter
“It’s very liberating. I haven’t felt this excited about politics for a long time,” says Samoa’s former Deputy Prime Minister, and now independent member, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. In September, Fiame
Nuclear ban treaty opens way for Pacific nuclear survivors
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, first adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, will enter into force on 22 January, after the 50th signatory deposited its ratification of the treaty with the
Women Micro-entrepreneurs Graduate from First South Pacific Business Development’s (SPBD) Business Accelerator Program
The first and only Business Accelerator Program for micro-entrepreneurs in Fiji has successfully graduated nine businesswomen in a simple ceremony on 6th November 2020. This intensive six-month program, which combines
