A New Name and Renewed Support for IFC s Sydney Based Facility

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Private Enterprise Partnership - Pacific Co-financed by Australia International Finance Corporation Japan New Zealand Managed by International Finance Corporation, a member of The World Bank Group The Private Enterprise Partnership- Pacific (PEP-Pacific) was established as the South Pacific Project Facility in The primary objective of PEP- Pacific is poverty reduction through employment-generating private sector development, underpinned by the regional themes of improving access to finance and tourism and a program promoting business enabling environments. PEP-Pacific works with institutions, organisations and associations to strengthen and stimulate small to medium enterprises so that they can grow, helping to create more and better jobs; a better standard of living; and alleviation of poverty. PEP-Pacific member countries are Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. PEP-Pacific is structured to respond effectively to the disparate needs of the geographically, economically and socially diverse region in which we operate. A New Name and Renewed Support for IFC s Sydney Based Facility The International Finance Corporation s (IFC) Sydney based facility has a new name, Private Enterprise Partnership Pacific (PEP-Pacific), and a renewed mandate from its donors. Formerly known as Pacific Enterprise Development Facility (PEDF), the new name brings the facility into line with names given to similar IFC facilities in other parts of the world. During the year the Australian, New Zealand and Japanese governments agreed to new funding for the Sydney facility and endorsed the IFC s ambitious five year plan to boost private sector growth as a means of reducing intractable poverty levels in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. PEP Pacific will continue to work to improve capital flows, corporate governance, technical skills and government regulations that impact on the business environment in the region s island nations. We believe that there is a very strong link between government policy and regulations and the employment generating private sector environment, said PEP-Pacific s Acting General Manager Rob Simms. While embracing all of the independent countries of the Pacific, the PEP-Pacific plan pays particular attention to Papua New Guinea and East Timor. Papua New Guinea is the largest country in the region and has some unique development Private Enterprise Partnership - Pacific Pacific Quarterly FOURTH QUARTER Year in Review needs, Mr Simms said. Similarly, we recognise East Timor has a very great need for development assistance. PEP-Pacific offices have recently been established in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby and in Dili, East Timor. PEP-Pacific s programs will be funded by Canberra, Tokyo and Wellington in line with their view that the private sector holds the key to the region s economic development. This initiative will promote enterprise, investment and growth by addressing the impediments to private sector development, said Australia s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, following the funding agreement. PEP-Pacific will also work to enhance the relationship between the region s public and private enterprise sectors. The IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, was founded 50 years ago. The Corporation s mission ( is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications. The IFC s significantly enhanced Pacific program will allow us to advance our mission in what is arguably one of the most remote and economically challenged regions of the world, Mr Simms concluded.

2 The Year in Review and the Year Ahead Rob Simms (Acting General Manager) The year to 30 June, 2006 was a year of transition and achievement. The year started with a submission to Donors of a new five year strategy. In the previous year, PEP-Pacific s business model had completed a shift from direct interventions with individual entrepreneurs to a new, structured program delivering capacity building services to individuals and organisations servicing the business community. Going forward, PEP-Pacific will focus on priority industry sectors with a specified geographical focus to maximise economic growth domestic and foreign investment, private sector development and employment growth. It will place greater emphasis on areas where IFC has a comparative advantage, such as access to finance and business climate development. PEP- Pacific s new strategy was developed in consultation with member government development agencies, business associations and other development partners to ensure compatibility with their programs and objectives. This approach, with a focus on improving the climate for investment, is fully aligned with the strategies of IFC, FIAS and the World Bank Group in the region. In essence, PEP-Pacific will focus on three main themes: Improving Access to Finance; Tourism; and Improving the Business Environment in member countries. PEP- Pacific s new Strategic Plan was submitted to a meeting of Donors in February, 2006 and was unanimously endorsed. A key feature of the new strategy is the opening of two new offices one in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and one in Dili, East Timor. Papua New Guinea is the largest country in which we operate with great potential and a variety of challenges. East Timor is a new nation in the making which requires an on-the-ground presence to identify and assist with its private sector development needs. Following endorsement of the proposal to establish the new offices, work commenced to staff and equip them. Peter Cusack has been appointed Country Coordinator for Papua New Guinea and Rainer Venghaus has been appointed Country Coordinator for East Timor. Both offices have been set up in the premises of The World Bank in the respective capital cities, making it easier to coordinate our activities and maximising the efficiencies of shared resources in both cases. Following the execution of an Establishment Agreement with the government of East Timor, we have commenced recruiting further staff, with Johanna Johansson joining PEP-Pacific, East Timor in July. Other staff have been recruited to enable us to carry out our mandate. Jen Bartlett has joined John Perrottet in Tourism and Alan Moody has joined to deliver our Business Enabling Environment program. Both Jen and Alan will be based in Sydney, but their work will cover all eleven member countries. Alan will also work with our colleagues at FIAS (Foreign Investment Advisory Services a joint IFC, World Bank initiative which works with governments to improve the investment climate) and the World Bank. A feature of PEP-Pacific will be improved monitoring and evaluation of our projects. During the year, our Administration Manager, Cathy St.Ledger worked with IFC s Monitoring & Evaluation Team in Washington, USA to develop improved models to help us objectively measure the development impact of our work. Going forward, this will require a better understanding of baseline data and cooperation with client partners to measure outcomes and impact. The objective of the improved monitoring and evaluation process is to guide us towards optimising the impact of our work.

3 Capital The key to SME Development in the Pacific Efficient, private sector oriented banking services are essential if SMEs are to grow and prosper in the Pacific. With a mandate to alleviate poverty by assisting with the development of the private sector, PEP-Pacific continued to focus during the year on improving banking services and the flow of capital throughout the region. In Papua New Guinea, PEP-Pacific assisted the country s largest Bank, Bank South Pacific (BSP), to implement a wide ranging training program covering employees in Port Moresby, Lae and other centres along the country s north coast, in the Highlands and on outer islands. The training followed the successful implementation of a four stage project to upgrade BSP s Credit Scoring System. The aim of the project was to enhance the handling of credit application processes, through improved consistency and greater accuracy, without significantly increasing the resources required. The credit scoring program has been a real success story for BSP and the training program was integral to the Bank s ability to provide small scale credit throughout the country, said PEP- Pacific s Rob Simms. Feedback obtained reveals trained BSP staff members are now enthusiastically marketing their products and services at the grassroots level. With the completion in 2004 of an eight phase Change Management Implementation program which resulted in a wide ranging reorganisation of the Fiji Development Bank (FDB), PEP-Pacific embarked during the year on a three stage project aimed at assisting the FDB to obtain a deposit taking licence from the Reserve Bank of Fiji. The bank s strategy was analysed, its IT and banking platforms reviewed and an improvement plan prepared that when implemented would ensure that the FDB met the Reserve Bank s licensing requirements. the Facility s overall objective in the Pacific. The Small Business of the Year award went to Suva entrepreneur, Hupfeld Hoerder. Hupfeld was also the winner of the Handicraft Section and won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. During the year, PEP-Pacific also completed a Credit Enhancement project for the National Development Bank of Palau which was designed to update the Bank s credit procedures and to produce a customised Credit Policy and an improved Procedures Manual. Once completed, PEP-Pacific implemented an intensive staff training and up skilling program to ensure the success of the initial project. The training consisted of one on one coaching and formal group sessions. In East Timor, the IFC s newest member, PEP-Pacific joined forces with the World Bank and the United States development agency, USAID, to organise a workshop for bankers, aid donors and representatives of the private sector focusing on access to sustainable finance in the tiny nation. Specifically, the workshop looked at SME banking in East Timor, constraints on the growth of commercial finance and the threat to SMEs of fraud and mismanagement. As part of its ongoing relationship with the FDB, PEP-Pacific also made a major contribution in September to the staging of the Bank s second annual small business awards. During a welcoming address to award night guests, the FDB s Chairman, David Aidney, said that his institution had a special responsibility to Fiji s small business sector which employs 60 percent of the country s workers. Rob Simms, said that the award program was consistant with

4 Microfinance A Unique Solution for a Unique Region of the World In the developing world, the island nations of the Pacific are unique. They are remote, they are a very long way from the world s major markets, their economies are very small and business is often conducted at the micro level. Aware of the unusual nature of the region, PEP-Pacific also worked during the year to assist organisations specialising in microfinance for micro-enterprises. The growth in the number of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Pacific region has attracted a wide range of software and hardware suppliers. Unfortunately, their products are often unsuitable, involve high initial costs to the MFI or lack adequate after sales service. Apia for local consultants and bankers likely to be working with the newly established Samoa Venture Capital Fund. The Vanuatu based MFI, the Melanesian Cooperative Savings & Loan Society, approached PEP-Pacific during the year with a request for assistance in evaluating and recommending low cost customer and general ledger MFI software platform options. The Facility analysed the Society s needs and made recommendations on application software and computerised record keeping (customer/member and finances) as well as management reporting programs. Since its establishment, PEP-Pacific has sought to encourage financial institutions to invest in enterprises that have adopted good environmental and social practices. In May, PEP-Pacific and the IFC s Sustainable Financial Markets Facility conducted a workshop in The workshop was told that it made good business sense for finance providers to invest in companies that operated in environmentally sound sectors such as ecotourism or solar power generation. According to the IFC specialists attending the workshop, such companies had a lower risk profile and profited from their efforts to meet consumer demands for a greater sense of corporate responsibility. Clive Mason of the IFC s Sustainable Financial Markets Facility said that participants responded very positively to the training, indicating that IFC could develop future workshops in the region. It s important for financial and banking institutions in the Pacific Islands to keep themselves abreast of the innovative developments in sustainable financing of businesses, he said.

5 Private Enterprise Partnership - Pacific The Samoa Venture Capital Fund was established by the IFC as a means of meeting the financial needs of local businesses. While capital may form the bridge between a good idea and a functioning business, insurance is an unavoidable and on going overhead for SME operators wanting to protect their investment. During the year, PEP-Pacific conducted a major review of insurance services in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Unfortunately, the review found that many operators were missing out on lucrative contracts and placing their businesses at significant risk because they did not fully understand the need for adequate cover or did not have access to the right insurance products. The review also found that many loan providers in the region were taking risks by requiring SMEs to insure certain assets only rather than basing risk assessments on the viability and total management of the business. Some businesses were being refused cover because they were unaware during the establishment phase of the construction standards required by insurance companies, said PEP-Pacific s Philip Olsen. For example, tourist operators did not understand that a minimum distance is required between accommodation buildings in order to reduce the risk of fire and to qualify for insurance coverage. Following the review, and subject to a workable solution being formulated, a strategy/proposal will be developed to improve access to these critical business inputs for micro and small enterprises in the Pacific region.

6 Private Enterprise Partnership - Pacific Agribusiness and Tourism Sustainable Sectors for the Pacific The unique circumstances of the Pacific Islands tend to limit industry options for the region s SMEs. PEP- Pacific has identified agribusiness and tourism as sustainable and potentially profitable sectors and continued to provide assistance throughout the year. In the horticultural sector, PEP-Pacific completed a five stage project for Nature s Way Cooperative Fiji Limited aimed at expanding breadfruit exports to New Zealand which has a large Pacific community and a ready market for the island staple. The project looked at optimum breadfruit harvesting time leading to improved shelflife and eating quality, harvesting methods with a view to minimising damage to the fruit, post-harvest handling including cooling and export packaging. The final stage of the project saw the production of an easy to read manual covering the harvesting, storage and transport of breadfruit plus associated breadfruit export standards. The manual, which was launched during a Breadfruit Industry Conference in Fiji, was distributed along with educational posters to growers, harvesters and packaging groups throughout the country. In January, PEP-Pacific conducted a tourism workshop in the East Timor capital of Dili as a way of introducing small operators to the concept of electronic marketing. The country s negative image abroad, which was heightened by this year s political unrest and a lack of quality facilities has, understandably, discouraged tourism industry wholesalers. The electronic marketplace allows local operators to showcase their products without wholesaler support, said PEP-Pacific s tourism specialist, John Perrottet. The Facility is in the process of establishing such a marketplace called Worldhotel - link and our workshop was about introducing the idea to members of the local industry as well as government. Worldhotel link.com (WHL) is an IFC initiative which began with a website listing nine guesthouses in the Cambodian town of Siem Reap and now covers hundreds of small hotels in developing countries from St Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean to Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa in the Pacific. The beauty of this product is that it provides first world technology to the developing nations of the Pacific, Mr Perrottet said. These hotels now have a globally competitive reservations system which allows them to capitalise on the rapidly expanding independent traveller market. Put simply, this unique hotel information and booking system is a network of country specific websites maintained by local operators under a franchise agreement with WHL which was established by the IFC. While the sites use IFC developed technology and are consistent worldwide, the hotel information carried on each is gathered locally by the franchisee who takes a commission on bookings and is free to sell local advertising. Pacific Enterprise Partnership - Pacific For further information contact Level 18, 14 Martin Place CML Building Sydney NSW 2000 Phone Fax peppacific@ifc.org General Manager (Acting) Robert Simms Operational Staff John Perrottet Philip Olsen Peter Cusack Rainer Venghaus Alan Moody Administration Staff Cathy St Ledger Arist Caruana Aphrodite Ioannou Jane Bleakley Suzanne Harvey Nga Trinh