Best Friend Passion for Fashion by Siunipa Pahulu and Ofeina Tuita, a partnership which started from their bond of friendship. They shared the same talent for sewing fashion at the same time they both wanted to help their families. They came up with the idea to start a sewing business with the aim to utulise their given talents that they have been blessed with, and to encourage the youth of Tonga that sewing is a way of earning a living, but not just through studying at school.

The two friends first met at a rugby game in which they both play rugby and as their friendship developed, they found out that they both do sewing from their homes, and they quickly decided to team up, help each other and share their sewing workload so that they are able to avail their time to still participate in their rugby trainings and games.

As they progress further with their friendship and partnership in sewing, they found that working from home became a challenge with odd hours of work, customers not paying, can't separate their business from family expenses and needs, not able to save, they certainly needed some business guidance and support. They started planning to look at setting up their sewing business by looking for a suitable place to operate. This is when they came to see Lusia Jones, Director for TYEE to seek for help.

TYEE recommended to Best Friend Passion for Fashion owners to start with the Youth Business Incubator support program at TYEE where TYEE accommodate or incubate them in a shared incubator workspace. This will allow them to operate from a suitable and safe business environment while receiving the relevant opportunity and support to set themselves up in the right way of doing business. They are now on their second month within the business incubator and they have found it to be beneficial for them, not only they see improvement in their work and service to customers, meet new customers, but they are also able to make some money, manage it and save for the development of their business plan, and to help their families.

Best Friend Passion for Fashion operates from TYEE Incubator Workspace, Monday to Friday during business hours and they welcome all sewing request from young and old, male and female - they can sew it.

The advantages of working within a business incubator include:

• Reduced expenses: TYEE business incubator allow you to save money on office space, supplies, utilities and other overhead costs by splitting these expenses between other startups in the program.
• Learning opportunities: TYEE business incubator can provide you with mentors, coaches and other professional development services that help you make business decisions and develop effective strategies in financial management, legal issues, human resources and technology.
• Access to funding: TYEE business incubator can link new businesses with funding to help grow their business, such as venture capitalists or other investors. Participating in a business incubator can make your company more appealing to investors.
• Professional connections: TYEE business incubator provide opportunities for you to network with professionals in a variety of industries that can provide resources, partnerships and guidance for your new business. These relationships may develop between the companies in the program, program facilitators, mentors or others involved in the program.
• Singular focus: Participating in TYEE business incubator gives you dedicated time to focus on developing your new business. You'll learn time management techniques, get in the habit of following a schedule and be motivated by like-minded entrepreneurs.

TYEE business incubator is a specialised program designed as a space for new businesses to learn and grow. The programs provide services for entrepreneurs and startups while offering reduced rates for supplies and work space. 

Suva, Fiji, 5th October 2022: Seventy-eight enterprises from six countries were invited to attend the Pacific Greenpreneurs 2022 Incubator orientation, kick off workshops and networking events held by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)’s Pacific Green Entrepreneurs Network (PGEN). The in-person events were held between 21st September to 1st October in Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu, facilitated by the consultants in Fiji and Kiribati and implementing partners, Emstret Space (E-Space) in PNG, Samoa Business Hub (SBH) in Samoa, Tonga Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Inc. (TYEE) in Tonga and Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Vanuatu.

Participating green enterprises are purpose-driven, with social and/or environmental missions and represent a diverse range of sectors including agriculture, aquaculture, circular economy & waste management, clean energy, eco-tourism, education & IT, construction & consulting. Fifty-eight percent of the ‘Greenpreneurs’ cohort are women-led and additionally 58% are youth-led enterprises.

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Photographs by South Seas Photography

Wednesday, 21st September 2022 Nuku'alofa: Eight young Tongan men and women “Greenpreneurs” and their green enterprises have been selected to join the 2022 Pacific Green Entrepreneurs Network (PGEN) incubator program.

Successful entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to participate in a business plan competition to secure grant seed funding of USD$5,000 to help them grow their green business ideas and enterprises.

This year, as the local implementing partner, TYEE will co-facilitate the full PGEN incubator program in Tonga for the first time.  The Tonga Orientation Event, which marked the beginning of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) program, was held at the Tonga Youth Employment & Entrepreneurship Inc. (TYEE) Youth Career Centre, in Mataika, Tongatapu.

Visiting Tonga for the first time was the GGGI Director General, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, accompanied by GGGI Regional Director, Ms. Katerina Syngellakis, and the GGGI Team in Tonga - Will Rolston and Lano Fonua.  The GGGI team was welcomed by TYEE director, Lusia Jones, who facilitates the program in Tonga.

In his remarks, Dr. Rijsberman stated that he started the Greenpreneurs program and GGGI to give young people a chance to start their green businesses and to provide the necessary tools for establishing a business.

“One important gap that a program like this can fill, is giving the chance to people with big ideas, specific space and plans but not necessarily the financial skills or the skills to run a business,” he said.

The network aims to support green and inclusive job growth by supporting entrepreneurs (particularly women and youth) to develop their green and sustainable businesses, whose business models include solutions aimed at contributing to their country’s climate and sustainable development goals in six Pacific Island countries - Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

The incubator program targets existing innovative early-stage green micro, small, and medium-enterprises (MSMEs) with demonstrated growth potential that are still in pursuit of a scalable and repeatable business model through localised virtual and physical training and courses, a mentorship program, in-person events, and networking opportunities.

In Tonga the eight selected applicants and their businesses are:

• Arthur Cocker, Defiant Robotics (Health, sanitation & hygiene)
• Faiana Feaomoeata, Pearls of Vava’u (Handicrafts & Creative Arts)
• Fane Kite, FANE (Manufacturing & Textiles)
• Brian Taunisila, Green Engine Solutions (Circular Economy & Waste Management)
• Kalisi Tuitavake, KALISI (Manufacturing & Textiles)
• Luseane Taufa, Believing in Grace Inc (Agriculture, Aquaculture & Agro-processing)
• Masina Valu, Knox Recycle Depo Ltd (Circular Economy & Waste Management)
• Serene Tay-Siasau, Mataliki cultural creatives Tonga (Circular Economy & Waste Management).

The Honourable Minister for Internal Affairs and Houma Council Chairman, Lord Vaea also attended the event.  In his remarks, the Honourable Minister spoke of the importance of identifying effective ways to communicate these initiatives to communities and the general public.  Moreover, he spoke of the importance of and informing the youth about climate change and what they can do to address or lessen its impacts.

The regional Pacific Green Entrepreneurs Network (PGEN) is a 3-year project funded by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute.

Also attending the event were representatives from TYEE Board, management and staff, mentors, TYEE in-house youth business incubator and invited guests.
​

About Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI):
Based in Seoul, GGGI is an intergovernmental organization that supports governments of developing countries to transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. GGGI delivers programs in over 40 partner countries with technical support, capacity building, policy planning & implementation, and by helping to build a pipeline of bankable green investment projects. More on GGGI’s events, projects, and publications can be found on www.gggi.org. You can also follow GGGI on Twitter and join us on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Tonga Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Inc. (TYEE)
Established in 2014 as a registered non-governmental and not for profit youth support service organisation working with the aim to help young school-leavers in Tonga ages between 18 to 35 through skills development, employment services, entrepreneurship and mentorship support.

Calling all green entrepreneurs, for-profit early stage, social enterprises, micro and small enterprises that are driving change - socially and/or environmentally in Tonga to apply and scale their impact. Don't wait, apply now!

​Are you an early-stage green entrepreneur in the Pacific? Are you passionate about addressing environmental or social issues through your business? Want to build your business through training, mentoring, coaching & networking? Interested in winning USD 5,000 in seed grant funding? The wait is over!
 
In celebration of the International Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day 2022 theme of ‘Resilience and Rebuilding: MSME’s for Sustainable Development’, the Global Green Growth Institute in partnership with the Qatar Fund for Development and Emstret, Samoa Business Hub, Tonga Youth Employment & Entrepreneurship and Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pleased to announce the much-anticipated launch of the Pacific Greenpreneurs Incubator Program 2022 Call for Applications.
 
APPLY NOW to participate in the Pacific Greenpreneurs Incubator Program 2022!

• Incubator Details: www.pacificgreenpreneurs.com/incubator
• Application Form: https://bit.ly/PacGreenInc22 
• Application Guidelines: https://bit.ly/PacGreenIncGuide22

Women and youth entrepreneurs are strongly encouraged to apply. Teams or individuals from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu with for-profit businesses are eligible. 
 
Applications close on 31st July 2022. The program will run from August 2022 - February 2023.
 
For more information, visit www.pacificgreenpreneurs.com.
 
In addition, we would be grateful if you could share the information above widely with your relevant networks.

The Island Innovation team will be on the ground at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, providing live coverage and synopsis to connect islands around the world to what’s happening in Lisbon. The goal is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the discussions taking place on the future of the ocean, especially those living on islands and coastal areas.

The forthcoming Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, comes at a critical time as the world is strengthening its efforts to mobilise, create and drive solutions to realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. As one of the first milestones of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ newly launched Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, the Conference will propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.

​I am an official Island Innovation Ambassador and I care about the future of our ocean. I invite you to register for the Island Pavilion and receive daily updates, news and extra resources from the UN Ocean Conference.

​Learn more at https:/ islandinnovation.co/un-ocean-conference