East Asia & the Pacific

Helping Women in Vanuatu Get a Head Start in Business

New business association and registration guide support entrepreneurs to set-up and run their firms

Perched on the waterfront, Port Vila's bustling outdoor market is a hive of activity that operates 24 hours a day. Stalls stacked with fresh fruit and homegrown vegetables, vibrant tropical flowers, and locally made souvenirs are mostly run by women keen to make a profit. Many of them lack information and support on how to register and operate a business, limiting their potential to grow and improve their lives.  

Encouraging entrepreneurs to register their businesses 

Supported by investment climate teams of the World Bank Group, the government of the small island state Vanuatu in the South Pacific launched a business registration guide on November 11, 2011.

Developed jointly with local business associations, it aims to help entrepreneurs—particularly businesswomen like those running the market stalls in Port Vila—set up and register their businesses, gain access to credit, and employ workers. 

"The guide addresses the stumbling blocks and constraints that people in Vanuatu—especially women—face when trying to participate in economic development," says Ham Lini, Deputy Prime Minister of Vanuatu, during the launch event. "When women have economic opportunity, their families and the communities they live in—overall our entire society—greatly benefits. This has a strong impact on the development of Vanuatu." 

Developed by the World Bank Group in cooperation with the Australian Government's overseas aid program (AusAID), the guide is the first outreach tool designed to encourage women to register their businesses. Published in Bislama, one of Vanuatu's official languages, the booklet helps women to get a head start in business. In depth, it offers tips on refining business ideas, writing business plans, and conducting market research.

It also gives recommendations on work-life balance—a concern for many working women in Vanuatu. It shows woman ways to manage family responsibilities while starting a business and the importance of family support during this process. Besides, it contains a list of online resources targeted at businesswomen.

Creating a platform and network of support for businesswomen

Investment Climate teams of the World Bank group also helped the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vanuatu form the Vanuatu Women in Sustainable Development Association (VWSDA). The organization aims to give women a platform to express their business issues and offers networking opportunities. It runs a training program for business owners and their employees to make best usage of their business skills.

"We don't want women to feel like they are the only one's facing problems in business," explains Votausi Mackenzie-Reur, President of the VWSDA. "Women who are starting out can join the association and be mentored by more experienced women who are willing to share their achievements and lessons learned." 

The association also works with government agencies, local NGOs and groups of entrepreneurs to help distribute the business registration guide throughout Vanuatu.  

Moving forward: Improving Vanuatu's business environment

The initiatives are part of a broader reform program to develop better conditions for private sector growth in Vanuatu. Since 2008, the World Bank Group, led by an IFC team on the ground, has been working with the government of the state and the private sector to facilitate the business entry and start-up process. To spur the reform process, the Doing Business Task Force—a body comprised of representatives from key government agencies, business associations and academia—has been created. 

"Through the Task Force, we are able to support the government of Vanuatu build on the business reform momentum generated over the last few years," says Jimmy Andeng, Associate Operations Officer, Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group. "In particular, we are focusing on immediate changes that help make the business entry process simpler and more transparent, and thus encourage more people to start a business." 

Reforms generated by the Task Force have reduced the cost of complying with business entry regulations, and streamlined start-up procedures. Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than VUV 4 million ($40,000) are no longer required to pay a business license fee of VUV 20,000 ($200), allowing more people to set up new enterprises. VUV 4 million is the threshold at which businesses must start paying Value Added Tax (VAT), providing an easy cut-off point for the business license fee change. Estimates suggests that these changes could amount to a total saving for small Ni-Vanuatu businesses of about VUV 80 million ($820,000) per year. The time to set up a firm was reduced by 10 days—from 32 in 2010 to 22 in 2011. 

"The achieved reforms have created an environment where entrepreneurship can flourish. There is no doubt that this will contribute to Vanuatu's economic development in the longer term" says Gavin Murray, IFC Pacific Regional Manager.