Ten Young Entrepreneurs complete 8-week YCL Internship Programme
31 October 2022 – Through the generous support of the British High Commission Apia,
the Samoa Chamber of Commerce (SCCI) in partnership with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) hosted a graduation ceremony in honor of the ten (10)
youth entrepreneurs that completed the 8-week Youth Co:Lab Internship Programme from
the 23rd August to the 18th October 2022.
This program served as a supplementary business support initiative for youth
entrepreneurs that participated in the latest Youth Co:Lab Samoa National Dialogue 2022,
an incubator program that aims to empower and equip young people to operate startup
businesses of their own.
“This is the first time we have added an internship component to the Youth Co:Lab
programme, for young entrepreneurs to gain work experience and an insight in the
operations and standards of a work placement that can help your capacity growth for your
own business,” said Ms. Lote Lima, Memberservices Manager of the Samoa Chamber of
Commerce.
“The Samoa Chamber of Commerce has long strived to ensure its services and programs
benefit not only the private sector in Samoa, but also Samoa’s young aspiring
entrepreneurs. Over the years, we have seen a great increase in interest in the Youth
Co:Lab programme since its first in 2018. This has indicated that more and more youth are
now focusing on building their own businesses that can help address social issues, help
communities and enhance technology development,” said Ms. Lima.
These youths that took up this opportunity have entrepreneurial interests and startups in
varying sectors including: elei and t-shirt printing, handcrafted adornments, cake baking,
social media marketing, online retail, and recycling. As early stage entrepreneurs, each of
the youth participants were excited for mentorship from industry experts to build their
capacity on operating a local business. Prior to the start of the program, the Samoa
Chamber of Commerce ran a soft-skills training to best prepare the youth interns for their
work placements.
We acknowledge the support of our private sector partners – Radio Polynesia, Digicel
Samoa, KEW Consult, EnCode Software Solutions, Onelook Studio, Samoa Institute of
Directors, Geeking Up Samoa and the Development Bank of Samoa Savaii for serving as
work placements for the youth interns. Under the leadership and guidance of these
organizations, the interns have shared improved skills in bookkeeping and accounting
software, website development, digital literacy, cloud-based software and systems,
communication and marketing strategies, product testing and research, customer service
and more.
The Keynote Address was given by His Excellency Mr. David Ward, British High
Commissioner to Samoa, who echoed Ms. Lima’s words of congratulations and encouraged
the next phase of the graduates’ entrepreneurial journey with a challenge for themselves
and for a better Samoa,
“And so I want to say to those who are graduating today from this 8-week program is to be
ambitious, for if you do not do this then the chances for progress for Samoa, the chances for
a better life for those around you, are less than they would be if you do not use what you
have learned. Take a risk, be ambitious and work for yourselves and for Samoa,” said HE
David Ward.
“If you can achieve that, I would be delighted and the people of Samoa will be one step
closer to achieving the [Sustainable Development Goals] and one step closer to a richer,
safer, securer society that they all want to live in.”
-ENDS
