Locations
MARKETS FOR CHANGE PROJECT PHASE II - SAMOA
Start Date - 01 August 2023 | End Date - 11 December 2026
Project Office - UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office (MCO), One UN House, Apia, Samoa
Status - Active / Ongoing
The informal sector generates a significant portion of economic activity in Samoa. With a narrow economic base and limited formal employment opportunities, a significant proportion of Pacific Islanders are employed in the informal sector (predominantly agriculture and trade).
Over 60% of women across the Pacific are involved in agricultural production and marketing activities, yielding over one-third of the region’s GDP. In Samoa, a total of 15,340 (37.3%) were reported to be employed informally in 2017, 66.9% were males and 33.1 % were females, the majority (88%) residing in the rural areas.1 Marketplaces serve as important drivers of local economic development. They help to provide livelihoods for a network of vendors, farmers and Samoan handicraft and merchandise producers that supply them. At the same time, they offer healthy local produce to the public, overseas visiting families, tourists, as well as supplying restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, and exporters. They also offer handicraft, Samoan elei materials, clothing, jewellery, and Samoan heirloom products (i.e., fine mats) and others.
The Markets for Change Project Phase II builds on the Theory of Change (ToC) with which gender-equitable economic and sociocultural empowerment of women market vendors within the market environment can be attained if accessible, inclusive, and representative governance structures are put into place in project marketplaces that improve accountability and advance sociocultural and economic rights, particularly of women market vendors. Through training, mentoring, and economic empowerment interventions, vendors themselves are directly empowered to strengthen their voice in the marketplaces and in their daily lives. Strengthening market management, local government, and the policy environment will enable more gender-responsive, transparent and accountable decision-making processes and improved framework conditions, and help give voice to women market vendors in arenas that affect their lives.
The overall goal for the UN Women M4C project for Phase II, is to promote gender equality and the economic empowerment of market vendors. Specifically, women market vendors, to have the ability to succeed and advance economically and women market vendors have the power and agency to act on decisions. UNDP will be the responsible party for Outcome 2 and UN Women will be implementing Outcomes 1, part of Outcome 2, 3 and 4 under the Markets for Change Project to ensure that services and training are suited to and accessible to market vendors, to support women to succeed and advance economically. This refers to both women’s improved economic status and their reporting of improved decision making over finances. It will target market vendors, vendor farmer individuals and the family as well as the private sector and providers of financial and social protection services including counselling and care.
This Outcome will contribute to improved economic status generated through improved availability of and access to financial and social protection services as well as training and skills in business and finance. Financial and social services include improved banking services, such as low fee savings accounts, access to credit and loans with reasonable credit fees, access to pension schemes and micro-insurance, including climate insurance. Many partnerships with service providers have already been established through Phase I and have continued directly between service providers and MVA demonstrating sustainability of this strategy.
Implementing Partner
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as Responsible Party for Outcome 2; in partnership with UN Women as lead programme entity.
Key national implementing partners include WIBDI, Samoa Business Hub, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, MWCSD, and other service providers.
Donors
UN Women (contributing UN entity) with funding support from DFAT (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).
Other relevant info
Regional programme implemented across Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Samoa activities under UNDP focus specifically on Outcome 2. The project aligns with the UN Pacific Strategy Outcome 3 and is classified as GEN3 (gender equality as a principal objective).
Impact
Improved socio-economic security of women market vendors through increased income, savings, access to finance, climate-resilient livelihoods, improved market participation, and strengthened decision-making power at both business and household levels. The broader impact is advancing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in Samoa’s informal sector.
