CBSI say low youth and women participation in SME finance and urges reforms to improve access to business funding.
Honiara — The Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) has raised concerns over the low participation of youth- and women-owned businesses in the country’s SME Credit Guarantee Scheme, warning that barriers to finance continue to prevent many small businesses from expanding and contributing fully to the economy.
CBSI Deputy Governor Raynold Moveni made the observation during the relaunch of the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS), which was suspended in January 2025 after guaranteed commitments exceeded available funding.
Moveni said the scheme had already supported more than 160 MSMEs, but available data showed that participation among youth- and women-owned enterprises remained low.
“Based on the data we have, uptake appears very low among youth- and women-owned MSMEs,” Moveni said.
He said the low participation highlighted broader and interconnected barriers preventing small businesses from accessing finance and expanding their operations.
The Deputy Governor said the challenge was not simply a lack of government and financial initiatives, but also the design of financial products and support schemes.
“The difficulties that MSMEs encounter in accessing finance are not primarily due to a lack of initiatives intended to support them. Rather, the issue primarily concerns the design of schemes or products,” he said.
Moveni called for more coordinated efforts between government, financial institutions and other stakeholders to improve awareness and make the scheme more accessible.
He said proposed improvements include simplifying loan applications, introducing risk-based lending, providing flexible repayment options, strengthening post-loan business support and improving financial literacy.
He also urged financial institutions to become more involved, noting that DBSI is currently the only financial institution active in the SMECGS.
Moveni encouraged youth and women entrepreneurs to take advantage of available opportunities while ensuring they borrow responsibly.
He said MSMEs also need support beyond finance, including structured training, mentoring, advisory services and improved access to markets.
The relaunch forms part of efforts under National Financial Inclusion Strategy 3, which identifies improved access to finance and business capacity-building for MSMEs as key priorities.
Moveni said successful implementation of the scheme could help turn business ideas into employment, income and growth for local enterprises.
By; Steven Kamoa
