Small but mighty: Driving digital inclusion and small business growth in Samoa

Agnes Fruean sells a little bit of this and that. Her store, This N That, sells unique, handmade, upcycled, and recycled items, including handbags, aprons, laptop sleeves, and small pouches. It’s located in Apia, the capital city of Samoa, a small island nation in the Pacific, which is home to about 200,000 people.

Micro-, small, and medium-sized businesses make up almost 97% of businesses in Samoa, with micro- and small enterprises accounting for most of these (medium-sized firms account for just 1.3%). While Samoa has recently rebounded economically from the pandemic, small businesses remain vulnerable to other shocks, such as the energy crisis the country recently experienced.

For Agnes, the biggest challenge in her business has been the manual work associated with managing her stock and sales data. This changed when Agnes started to use the Maua app, Samoa’s first e-commerce platform. “Having Maua on board really helped the process be a lot more seamless,” she explained. “It was just scanning or entering some data in, and reports are generated for you. So now it’s just a click away, and the information is provided for you. So it’s been a huge help.”

Like Agnes, small businesses in Samoa need support in accessing local and international markets, in digital marketing, and in collecting and using data for better decision-making. Challenges around connectivity, infrastructure, logistics, and access to finance continue to hinder small businesses’ growth. This is why Mastercard Strive partnered with locally owned technology company SkyEye Pacific, which built the Maua app. SkyEye Pacific aims to boost the digital capabilities of Samoa’s small businesses by offering affordable digital business management tools. As part of the project with Mastercard Strive, SkyEye Pacific is:

• Adding new functionality to the Maua app, integrating other data sources like offline sales data and social media data, and offering small businesses advanced analysis for better decision-making.
• Introducing a new Android point-of-sale device (MauaPOS) so small vendors can digitize and cost their inventory and record offline sales.
• Introducing an AI-enabled chatbot that enables vendors to update their inventory, inform customers of special promotions, update their daily opening hours, and more.

Building awareness to scale: The Maua app and MauaPOS

SkyEye’s Maua app and the rollout of MauaPOS have been crucial in enabling Samoan small businesses to digitize sales transactions. SkyEye has prioritized meeting small business owners where they are and building awareness in person, for example, through the Samoa Chamber of Commerce. SkyEye has held hands-on demonstrations at Samoa Business Hub meetings, where vendors were introduced to the POS system’s benefits, such as simplifying tax returns and improving access to microloans. These in-person trials have resulted in promising uptake, with businesses seeing firsthand how POS technology could streamline operations and unlock growth.

SkyEye has also hosted a series of intensive, half-day workshops with small business owners that focused on introducing business intelligence tools and AI solutions. By combining group learning with one-on-one consultations, SkyEye personalizes support and highlights the benefits of adoption.

Women-led businesses, particularly those in farming, remain a key segment for SkyEye’s digital solutions. In partnership with Women in Business Development Inc., SkyEye presented the benefits of e-commerce and POS solutions at farmers’ meetings and during their monthly farmers’ markets. These efforts are helping farmers understand and trial how digital solutions can enable them to better track inventory, reduce post-harvest losses, and expand sales.

Small business challenges with POS acceptance: Past experiences, availability, and taxation uncertainties

SkyEye’s efforts have not come without challenges, particularly in encouraging small businesses to trial and adopt the MauaPOS. For instance, small businesses’ past negative experiences with other POS solutions significantly impact their willingness to try new POS systems. Most POS system providers are from outside Samoa; some small businesses migrated their inventory, invested in equipment, and paid for servicing and maintenance, only to find that technical support wasn’t available on the islands. Another challenge was that small business owners, often managing day-to-day operations single-handedly, find it difficult to allocate time for onboarding and system use, especially during the initial adoption and learning curve. Additional challenges included hesitation due to uncertainties around government taxation on POS use, as well as technical and configuration issues.

SkyEye is taking proactive steps to overcome these barriers, including:

• Expanding team capacity to support POS trials and onboarding.
• Deepening collaboration with organizations like the Samoa Women’s Association of Growers.
• Rolling out AI dashboards and vendor updates to help businesses better understand and serve their customers.

Looking ahead: A steady commitment to digital inclusion

Change does not happen overnight. It requires consistent, collaborative efforts among various partners and stakeholders. As a Pacific-owned and -managed technology startup, SkyEye’s mission is to adapt and harness global technology to solve Pacific-specific and small island problems. This is why SkyEye, over the past eight years, has invested in strengthening digital infrastructure in Samoa through digital, e-commerce, and financial inclusion tools, such as the Maua app. These tools have been accompanied by significant and ongoing community and public awareness campaigns, consultations, and capacity-building efforts to drive adoption among Samoa’s small businesses. These efforts were made possible with the collaborative funding support of the GSMA, UNCDF, UNDP, and currently Mastercard Strive. Lessons and experiences demonstrate that continuously engaging communities, adapting to their needs, and building trust can lay a strong foundation for the digital future of Samoa’s small businesses.