The Pacific Connect Conference is funded by the Australian government and delivered by the International Centre for Democratic Partnerships (ICDP) with the goal of forging stronger, strategic-level relationships between Pacific and Australian leaders across the public, private and community sectors. 

DLA Piper is supporting ICDP to provide pro bono support to Pacific entrepreneurs to strengthen such partnerships with the private sector.

The DLA Piper team comprised Joel Cox, Catriona Martin, Julie Humphreys and Austyn Campbell.

“Pacific entrepreneurs are known for their creativity, innovation and resilience,” DLA Piper said in a statement. 

“However they also face some of the most significant challenges to establishing and growing businesses.

“The World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index ranks the Pacific as among the most difficult places to do business in the world commonly due to the inefficiency and inefficacy of local legal systems.

“The role of the private sector in supporting entrepreneurs and helping the economic development of these island nations is, therefore as important as ever,” they said. 

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DLA Piper will participate in further meetings with Pacific islander entrepreneurs, drawing on discussions and feedback to run two capacity-building workshops with the entrepreneurs and their start-up communities. 

The first will be an introductory workshop on the basics of establishing a successful start-up, and the second, a more advanced workshop concerning the scaling of a business to access capital and how to move away from grant funding.

DLA Piper will also provide strategic advice to some of the most established entrepreneurs to assist them in growing their businesses internationally.

DLA Piper partner Joel Cox noted that DLA Piper has an ongoing pro bono commitment to the Pacific region, including an active role in supporting the development of the Pacific entrepreneurial system.

“This workshop presents a great opportunity to hear first hand the challenges faced by Pacific islander entrepreneurs that will help us to shape this support, drawing on our commercial experience and knowledge of best practice. 

“The gap in strategic legal support for such entrepreneurs is something we are keen to address to help such start ups and small businesses thrive,” said Mr Cox. 

Simone Pensko, chief executive at the ICDP, noted that the ICDP was delighted to be collaborating with DLA Piper to assist Pacific islander entrepreneurs and small businesses overcome practical challenges that affect sustainability and growth.

“This approach is a prime example of the work ICDP does in the Pacific to promote genuine engagement that leads to meaningful investment in people, businesses and communities,” she said.