In the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, revitalising the small-scale enterprise sector presents an opportunity for economic recovery and capacity building. Recognising the potential of technology as a transformative tool, the Griffith Asia Institute, with funding from the Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC), has partnered with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) to explore interventions aimed at fostering growth-oriented small-scale enterprises through digital technology. This project, in collaboration with the development banks of Samoa, Solomon Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), seeks to enhance small-scale enterprise access to finance, education, human capital, and enterprise support systems across the region.

This report presents the findings from the initial phase of the project, which involved data collection from Samoa, Solomon Islands, and FSM. Through interviews with local institutions and surveys of current and prospective small-scale entrepreneurs, the research highlighted how entrepreneurial behaviors impact the ability to overcome development constraints and identified existing support mechanisms. A key finding is that many small-scale enterprises function primarily as livelihoods, lacking formal business models or growth aspirations, which limits the potential impact of the support provided by financial institutions and development practitioners.