Participants receiving their awards.
Official Handover of Awards to Strongim Bisnis – Business Accelerator Programme.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration (MCILI), through its Business and Cooperative Division, has officially handed over five laptops (5) to selected participants of the Strongim Bisnis Business Accelerator Programme as part of an ongoing partnership between MCILI to strengthen Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Solomon Islands.
The Business Accelerator Programme commenced in August last year 2025 and provided participating businesses with six months of coaching, mentoring, and specialised business training. The programme culminated in a Shark Tank-style business competition, during which 10 small businesses presented their business ideas and growth plans.
As part of the programme’s support package, winning participants received non-cash business assets sponsored by MCILI, including one laptop and one Starlink unit, to enhance digital connectivity, productivity, record-keeping, marketing, and access to online markets.
This initiative forms part of the Government’s broader MSME Development and Indigenous Business Empowerment Programme, which aims to strengthen locally owned businesses, improve business capability, and create greater opportunities for indigenous entrepreneurs to participate in economic development.
Importantly, the programme has also contributed to the development of a new blended financing facility between Strongim Bisnis and the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI). This facility is intended to support MSMEs seeking asset financing, particularly those operating in the agriculture and tourism sectors.
The partnership demonstrates how government, development partners, and financial institutions can work collaboratively to move MSMEs beyond training and mentoring towards access to productive assets, finance, technology, and markets.
MCILI welcomes this partnership and looks forward to expanding similar initiatives to support more Solomon Islands-owned businesses and cooperatives as part of the national MSME development agenda.