Australian government boost for social enterprises in the Pacific

A new partnership will boost an Australian government program that aims to generate $5 million worth of private capital into 20 Pacific Island businesses in the next three years, in particular promoting social enterprises that deliver economic empowerment for women.

As part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) aid for trade program, Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia will work with the Pacific Readiness for Investment in Social Enterprise (Pacific RISE) program to identify investment opportunities in Pacific businesses and help social enterprises access investor deal flows.

PTI Australia has been working with Australia’s private sector to develop trade with businesses in 16 Pacific Island countries for more than 38 years. In 2016 alone, PTI Australia assisted 412 Pacific Island businesses, facilitating more than $8.39 million in investments and $18.76 million in exports. This includes helping 110 women-led businesses secure 58 deals worth more than $2.93 million.

PTI Australia has also helped facilitate two recent impact investments in the region – $656,000 in Vanuatu’s Tanna Coffee in April 2017 and $80,000 in Samoa’s Coconut Cluster in November 2016.
Australia will invest up to $1.1 billion in the Pacific in 2017–18, representing over a quarter of the total aid budget. But development assistance alone is not enough. DFAT is also looking at opportunities to facilitate greater private-sector investment and better trade links with Australia as the Pacific emerges as a viable investment market. The Australian government has set an aid for trade target that represents 20 per cent of the total aid budget by 2020, as part of which, in January 2017, DFAT launched Pacific RISE, an initiative designed to create an impact investment market in the Pacific.
Amanda Jupp, Pacific RISE’s facility manager, said the partnership would formalise the already strong relationship with PTI Australia.

“This partnership will enable Australian investors to access PTI Australia’s extensive networks and contacts with Pacific-based businesses,” Jupp said.