Financing Growth

We are working to increase business access to finance, as well as access to basic financial services for business and individuals across the Pacific.

Business access to credit is critical to private sector growth. Without finance, businesses struggle to grow, meaning economic growth is slowed, jobs are not created, tax revenue does not grow, and standards of living are not raised.

Business and households in the Pacific continue to experience high levels of financial exclusion despite the prevalence of excess liquidity in many Pacific financial systems and the increased availability of savings products.

There is a strong link between access to finance and business growth, and, in turn, growth in employment and incomes. This is why PSDI works to alleviate the constraints Pacific businesses face in obtaining finance.

To address these constraints, PSDI’s financing growth work area focuses on:

• supporting the commercial transformation of government-owned banks through implementing policies and processes to support commercial lending, development of strategic plans, and clarification of the role of state-owned banks within wider banking systems;
• introducing financing products more suited to the Pacific, such as lending products where the borrower can use movable assets rather than land as collateral, and new capital raising platforms, such as equity crowd funding and peer-to-peer lending;
• strengthening the capability of retirement funds to finance long-term domestic investment through the development of investment management frameworks and other policies and processes, which protects both members’ interests and the fund’s financial sustainability;
• strengthening the financial sector’s institutional underpinnings by supporting the development of robust policies and associated legal and regulatory frameworks—a common thread through all PSDI’s work; and
• building awareness of key policy issues through advocacy and analytical work.

Financing Growth and COVID-19

For more information on PSDI's Financing Growth focus area and COVID-19, click here.