Business Samoan Style

It was when Chris Solomona of Samoan business KVAConsult started to hear around town "that they (staff) were rich" that he could have felt justified in realizing that they were making an impact.

KVAConsult Senior Investment Banking Consultant, Naomi Tuioti says in fact, "we're just a struggling business like any other."

But if their client list and reputation is any recommendation, KVAConsult is thriving, not struggling.

First established by Kolone Vaai in 1990 when he left Samoa's Treasury department, the business (which was then called Kolone Vaai and Associates), initially focused on finance and economics. The company was restructured in 2000, when Epa Tuioti, then Financial Secretary to Government joined the company. Since then, the expertise of new staff has reflected the stages of Samoa's, and now the region's economic development. Experts in state owned enterprises, international trade, governance, gender and trade, human resource development, information technology and communications, and investment banking have joined the firm in recent years.

Chris Solomona and Naomi Tuioti of KVAConsult. Photo: Samantha Magick

They have in common an energy and experience that makes them at home in Pacific boardrooms, government departments and when talking to international investors and development agencies.

Solomona studied communications at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji before returning to Apia. Tuioti is currently working towards a Masters in Business Administration from Deakin University in Melbourne Australia.

"In the past the experts have really come from the outside, (but) local people have a much better understanding about what's happening on the ground," Solomona says.

KVAConsult is at a stage where it is consolidating. "It's at the phase now where we're just leveling off and we're looking at particular focal areas we really want to start focusing on."

Locally one of KVAConsult's most exciting ventures is the new Aggie Grey's beach resort. KVAConsult is project advisor and financial consultant on this development.

Solomona and Tuioti say KVAConsult's involvement in the Aggie Grey's project has helped to instill confidence or "positive vibes" in potential investors.

And like the Denarau project in Fiji, many in Samoa hope this resort will provide something of a catalyst for tourism sector development.

"I think tourism will start to pick up a bit, "I'm an optimist, and we are keeping our fingers crossed," Tuioti says.

While most of their work has been in Samoa, KVAConsult also has an impressive portfolio of experience across the region.

One of KVAConsult's Co-Managing Directors is a member of a three-man team undertaking a review of Australian aid to Papua New Guinea on behalf of the Governments of Australia and PNG.

Solomona says there are possibilities to do work as part of the economic rebuilding effort in the Solomon Islands. "Ausaid has been in contact a couple of times to check us out." These discussions are on-going.

He also sees opportunities in Nauru, where Australia and now the Pacific Islands Forum are looking at how to help that collapsing economy.

KVAConsult plays a role project scoping for development agencies ProInvest and the Centre for Development Assistance under the ACP-EU arrangements. Solomona says there is now much interest in noni juice and coconut oil, but fisheries has been a key target area in the past. "Fishing is starting to pick up again after about two years of very poor catches. The small guys have taken a big loss but the big commercial fellas are still bringing it in," he says of that sector. When the industry boomed everyone, including several part-time fishermen got into fishing boats."

KVAConsult is working at the community level as project managers in Samoa for the Japan Grassroots Human Security Grant Aid Program.

The business has taken on two people, a project manager and community liaison officer to help manage this work. This program provides funding for community projects such as school buildings and water tanks.

If Solomona sees consolidation ahead for KVAConsult, he appears to wish the same for the Samoan economy more generally.

"If people see Samoa as a model for reform and going forward development, then I think it's a very positive thing…(but) I personally feel we need to closely monitor and evaluate our performance, and if need be, consolidate the gains made to avoid the risk of trying to do too much with limited resources.

"We're starting to see the opening up of investment opportunities to people outside the region. Samoa sees benefits in providing a better environment for developers and investors," he says.

The day after we met, KVAConsult staff were staging a major golf competition. In many ways it summed up what the business was all about. All proceeds were going to the Flame Youth Centre, a community group working with youth (one that had met the rigorous conditions you would expect to be demanded from a business based on encouraging good governance, strategy and management). But it was also a valuable networking opportunity for KVAConsult, a chance to tap into the good will and stay in touch with many of their local clients and contacts. Exactly what you would expect from an organization with its feet planted very firmly in the islands, but with an eye to a much bigger world.

Profiles of the KVAConsult Ltd team and details of the company's project experience can be found at www.kvaconsult.com