BLP’s Big Impact on the Espiritu Hotel in Santo

Late last year Business Link Pacific, a private sector development programme funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and implemented through VCCI, launched its Adaptation Grant initiative, in response to COVID’s devastating effects on tourism businesses in Vanuatu.

The grant initiative was designed to enable access to capital for SMEs facing distress during the COVID pandemic. Grants were made available to SMEs from all sectors with staff of up to 50 employees, via an application process. For the Espiritu Hotel in Santo, owner/operator Mr Simon Leung applied for a grant to purchase and install a solar solution for his business. With hotel occupancy low, the cost of electricity remained very high for his boutique hotel in the main street of Luganville.

Simon shared “The grant was very helpful in boosting our solar panel output by 15% from 50kw to 58kw which in turn offsets our dependence on the grid in times of rain and overcast weather when panel power generation is not at its optimal level. It also allows us to add additional electrical loads in times of good weather and there is an excess of power generated. Overall, it makes us more green, sustainable, and flexible as a business. Thank you very much Business Link Pacific and Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry for this great support”

If you are interested in more information about BLP please contact Yvonne Taiki at business@vcci.vu

Business Link Pacific (BLP) is a private sector development programme funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). Our core team is based in Auckland and supported by

in-country partners in Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Kiribati & Papua New Guinea. Its primary aim is to connect small and medium sized businesses in the Pacific to local advisory services. The BLP quality approved network of advisors offers accessible services for business growth.