Samoa Chamber of Commerce

The Samoa Chamber of Commerce provides key networking opportunities, as well as advocacy and training for Samoa’s private sector, with 97% of their members being Small and Medium sized Enterprises operating within the private sector.

CEO of Samoa Chamber of Commerce, Hobart Vaai, acknowledged during the first few months of the pandemic that the organisation’s entrepreneurs were not prepared to cope with the challenges presented by COVID-19. In order to build the organisation and its entrepreneurs’ resilience, therefore, SCC decided to design and deliver a business resilience program.

The Chamber began by undertaking a consultation meeting with key stakeholders to plan and design the program. This involved developing content such as in-person workshops and webinars that contextualised and delivered a number of business resiliency toolkits. The latter, available in both english and Samoan, outline clear actions that enterprises can take to increase their resiliency in response to unexpected shocks, such as a pandemic. The nine toolkits developed include examples and case studies from real businesses in Samoa who have put these practices in place. 

The delivery team was then trained in delivering the content through in-person workshops in Upolu and Savaii as well as through virtual programs, and delivered sessions reaching 79 enterprises, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. The toolkits now form part of SCC’s core library of support resources available to their members. 

Hobart is now confident that the Chamber’s young entrepreneurs are adaptable and resilient, and that the reduction of unemployment and increase in entrepreneurship is successfully combating the impacts of COVID-19 on the community.

More projects and support like the SFI Response Program are needed to work with businesses of all sizes from MSMEs, SMEs to corporates.