Pacific Business: Small Indigenous Business in the Pacific

Abstract

John M. Hailey is a Fellow with the Pacific Island Development Development Program, East-West Centre, Hawaii, USA. Despite the problems faced by small indigenous businesses operating in the Pacific islands there is a growing optimism that indigenous enterprise can play an integral role in the balanced development of these islands. At a recent regional workshop on indigenous business development in the Pacific it was strongly argued that governments should do more to promote small indigenous enterprise. For the indigenous business sector was seen as an area of future growth and potential in which new economic opportunites could be created, new the community. The paper argues that this potential can only be achieved if Pacific islanders are willing to integrate their personal values with the regours of business practice and available business resources. The future of small indigenous business depended on Pacific entrepreneurs resoving the inherent contradictions that exist between contemporary business practice and the communal commitments that are integral to Pacific cultures and the island way of life.