Photo courtesy: Samoan Business Hub. Retrieved from undp.org
“O le ala i le pule o le tautua”; the path to leadership is through service. This Samoan proverb was embodied by 44 entrepreneurs attending their final training graduation, marking a significant milestone in their professional and personal journeys in December 2024. What united them was their shared dedication over the past six months to earning the Samoa Business Hub Certificate II in Small Business Operations.
Thanks to the support of the Markets for Change (M4C) programme, 25 students – all women – now possess the skills and certification needed to grow sustainable businesses in Samoa. The M4C Phase II project, implemented by UN Women in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and funded by the Government of Australia since 2022, is a five-year initiative aimed at promoting the economic empowerment of women market vendors across five countries. The Green Climate Fund-Vaisigano Catchment Project (GCF-VCP) funded nine students to join the cohort, as part of their joint climate adaptation and human resilience objectives. The remaining 10 students were sponsored by the Samoa Qualifications Authority.
Promoting economic empowerment through learning
In Samoa, gender disparities in the labour market remain a significant barrier to women’s economic empowerment. Women represent only 35% of the employed population, as highlighted by the latest national labour survey (Samoa Bureau of Statistics, 2024). This inequity is particularly stark in the private sector, where women make up just 39% of the workforce and are less likely to occupy full-time positions or leadership roles. Many women are relegated to unpaid family or volunteer positions, missing out on formal wages, social protection, and economic autonomy (Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative, 2021).