Building confidence, building business: What drives the entrepreneurial spirit in the Pacific?
SAMEER DESHPANDE, SHAWN HUNTER AND PETER MORGAN |
Small-scale enterprises are the backbone of many Pacific economies. They provide livelihoods, stimulate innovation, and strengthen resilience, particularly for vulnerable populations. Yet, their growth is constrained by limited resources, access to finance, and the challenges of geography — from remote locations to small populations.
As the region recovers from the economic downturn of COVID-19, revitalising small-scale businesses has become a priority. Much of the focus has rightly been on providing business services, training, and access to capital. But one critical factor often overlooked is entrepreneurial confidence — the belief that one can start and sustain a business successfully.
Confidence as a key driver
Our research in the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, and Solomon Islands explored what shapes entrepreneurial confidence. We looked at two dimensions:
- Internal confidence — an individual’s belief in their own ability to start a business.
- External confidence — perceptions of support from the environment around them.
Interestingly, we found that confidence in one area often reinforces the other. More surprising, however, was that confidence levels did not vary significantly by gender, education, or age. Instead, the strongest driver was the perceived ease of accessing capital. When entrepreneurs felt confident they could secure financing, their overall belief in their ability to succeed increased.
Implications for policy and practice
These findings have important lessons for those working to strengthen entrepreneurship in the Pacific.
- Focus on access to finance.
Improving financial inclusion is essential — not only to provide capital but also to build entrepreneurial confidence. Microfinance, development banks, and digital financial services tailored to small-scale entrepreneurs can play a major role. - Support experiential learning.
Since education and age showed little effect, practical experience matters more than formal training. Internships, apprenticeships, mentorship, and business hubs can help entrepreneurs gain real-world confidence. - Invest in local support systems.
Chambers of commerce, cooperatives, NGOs, and incubators need greater capacity to deliver quality training and networking opportunities, especially outside urban centres. - Strengthen government’s enabling role.
Policymakers can create an environment where entrepreneurs thrive by simplifying loan approval processes, reducing collateral requirements, and supporting risk-sharing mechanisms like government-backed loan guarantees. Building robust digital financial infrastructure and ensuring interoperability across platforms is also crucial. - Improve data collection.
Regular monitoring of small business ecosystems — including feedback from entrepreneurs themselves — will help refine interventions and track confidence-building over time.
Moving forward
Entrepreneurship in the Pacific is not only about starting businesses. It is about enabling individuals to achieve their aspirations, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth. Our research shows that confidence — particularly confidence in accessing capital — is central to this process.
For policymakers, development practitioners, and community leaders, the message is clear: creating an ecosystem that combines financial inclusion, practical experience, and strong local support can help unlock the entrepreneurial spirit across the Pacific.
Associate Professor Sameer Deshpande and Dr Shawn Hunter are members of the Griffith Asia Institute, and Peter J Morgan, former Senior Consulting Economist and Advisor to the Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute.
Acknowledgement: This blog post was prepared with the assistance of ChatGPT to support the adaptation of the following chapter into a concise, reader-accessible synopsis: Deshpande, S., Hunter, S., & Morgan, P. J. (2024). What factors encourage entrepreneurial spirit? Findings from three Pacific Islands. In Asian Development Bank Institute (Ed.), Strengthening the Ecosystem of Vibrant MSMEs for Resilient Growth in Asia and the Pacific. (pp. 131–151). Asian Development Bank Institute.