The findings of a report on small businesses across the Pacific including Samoa have revealed the greater need for financial support. 

A Business Link Pacific (B.L.P.) report titled “Access to finance and the impact of COVID-19 report, 2021" revealed the challenges that the small businesses in the region currently face amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The B.L.P. is a private sector development programme that connects businesses in the Pacific Islands to local, quality advisory service experts. The report is based on a Pacific Island Financial Survey conducted in 2021 by B.L.P. 

The survey targeted a total of 542 small business owners across 13 Pacific Island countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga and Vanuatu.  

The survey collected feedback from small to medium sized enterprises, in terms of the impact of COVID-19 on their business, and to identify what support is currently available as well as to learn the strategies that they have employed to survive.

According to the report, the vast majority (82 per cent) of small to medium enterprises surveyed are currently seeking financial support.

“There has been a notable shift in finance seeking behaviour since the COVID-19 crisis began; S.M.E. appear to be considering a wider variety of finance options,” reads the report.

Furthermore, the report added that, “When asked to select the most helpful financial products to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, working capital and low-interest loans have continued to be the two most popular responses.”

“[A total of] 55.5 per cent of the S.M.E. surveyed have implemented additional health and safety measures as a result of COVID-19.

“[Whereas] 27.3 per cent of those interviewed took steps to protect the mental health of owners and staff, while a quarter (25.1 per cent) have enabled staff to work from home.

“Pacific Business Monitor Research that identified that 88 per cent of businesses reported a decline in revenue.”

 In addition, over half of the businesses surveyed, 55.2 per cent reported that they have seen a reduction in the volume of overall sales (domestic and international) and income.

“While 35.6 per cent have been temporarily shut down or closed due to COVID-19, 23.4 per cent have had difficulty repaying their debts and 25.3 per cent have had trouble receiving payment from their clients, likely disrupting their cash flow.”

Additionally, 54.4 per cent of respondents have taken advantage of financial assistance provided by banks or other financial institutions.

While 62.5 per cent of respondents accessed some form of government financial assistance.

Also, 59.2 per cent of respondents said they accessed support from channels other than government, banks and financial institutions.

“When asked to select the most helpful assistance programmes to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, the respondents primarily selected wage payment support.”